Full text of "The doctrine of the communion of saints in the ancient church : a study in the history of dogma"

IDOCTRINE OF THE
1MUNION OF SAINTS
N THE ANCIENT

CHURCH

DRJ.PKIRSCH

Translated by
Rev. J.R.Mc.KEE.

JJlencotoe ffiotttoaltj.

W. HEFKKIt & SONS LTD.

The Doctrine of the Communion of Saints
in the Ancient Church

EDINBURGH : PRINTED BY JAMES SKINNER AND COMPANY.

The Doctrine

OF THE

Communion of Saints

in the Ancient Church
A STUDY IN THE HISTORY OF DOGMA

DR. J. P. KIRSCH

PROFESSOR OF PATROLOGY AND CHRISTIAN ARCHEOLOGY IN THE
UNIVERSITY OF FREIBURG (SWITZERLAND)

TRANSLATED WITH THE AUTHOR S PERMISSION
BY

JOHN R. M KEE

OF THE ORATORY

SANDS & COMPANY

EDINBURGH : 37 GEORGE STREET

LONDON : 15 KING STREET, COVENT GARDEN

imprint: permittitur.

Mogunttae, die 8 Decembris 1899.

Dr. J. B. HOLZAMMER,

Consil tccL et Can. Cap. Eccl. cathedr. Mog.

Jlibtl cbatat.

HENRICUS S. BOWDEN,

Censor deputatus.

HJntprimatxtr.

EDM. CANONICUS SURMONT,

Vicarius generalis,
Westmonast. die 4 /// / 1910.

Sancta Maria, et omnes Sancti intercedant pro nobis ad
Dominum : ut nos mereamur ab eo adjuvari, et salvari, qui
vivit et regnat in saecula sasculorum.

Gives superrue curias,
Amicti stolis glorias,
Ab intra pleni lumine,
Ab extra pulchritudine,

Quam mentis in excessibus
Fruimini caclestibus,
Tenentes sceptra regia,
Securi nunc de gloria !

Certamus hie in pelago
Hujus sasculi luctifluo,
Ad portum nos reducite
Pacis seternaa patriae.

Ut vivi fontis gratise
Inebriemur flumine
Et laudes permagnificas
Reddamus Deo debitas.

Analecta Hymnica Medii sEvi.

Vol. XXX. p. 144.

Angeli, Archangeli, Throni et Dominationes, Principatus et
Potestates, Virtutes coelorum, Cherubim atque Seraphim,
Patriarchs et Prophetae, sancti legis Doctores, Apostoli, omnes
Christi Martyres, sancti Confessores, Virgines Domini, Ana-
choreUe, Sanctique omnes intercedite pro nobis.

CONTENTS.

PAGE

TRANSLATOR S PREFACE . ix.

AUTHOR S PREFACE . . . . xxxi.

INTRODUCTION .... i

PART I.

THE EVIDENCE FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE COM
MUNION OF SAINTS IN THE FIRST AGE OF
THE CHURCH, ... 9

CHAP.

I. The Intercessions of the Faithful for One Another, 12

II. The Relation of the Elect in Heaven to the Faith

ful on Earth, . 1 8

III. The Angels as Guardians of the Faithful, . 33

IV. Prayers for the Dead, . 39

PART II.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE DOCTRINE OF THE COM
MUNION OF SAINTS UNTIL THE BEGINNING OF
THE FOURTH CENTURY, . . 45

I. The Mystical Union of the Faithful on Earth to

One Another, ... 46

II. The Relation of the Faithful to the Departed, 53

III. The Position of the Martyrs in the Church, . 72

IV. Prayers for the Dead in the Third Century, . 121
V. The Relation of the Faithful to the Holy Angels, . 136

viii CONTENTS.

PART III.

PAGE

THE FULLY DEVELOPED DOCTRINE OF THE COM-
MUNION OF SAINTS IN THE FOURTH AND
FIFTH CENTURIES, . . . . 153

CHAP.

I. The Vital Union between all Members of the

Kingdom of God, . . . . .156

II. Intercession and Meritorious Works of the Faith
ful for Each Other, . . . -177

III. Various Forms of Prayer for the Dead, and the

Invocation of Departed Souls, . . . 189

IV. The Worship and Invocation of the Saints, . 212
V. The Worship and Invocation of the Angels, . 244

VI. The Addition of " Communio Sanctorum" to the

Apostles Creed, . , SN^ . . 254

CONCLUSION . . . . . 269

TRANSLATOR S PREFACE.
I.

THE treatise on the Communion of Saints now
presented to the reader in an English translation,
although written some ten years ago, seems singularly
useful at the present time. In such works as " Les
saints successeurs des dieux," by M. P. Saintyves,
and M. Solomon Reinach s " Orpheus," the attempt
is made to trace the beliefs and practices connected
with this article of the creed to a pagan origin. The
best answer to this attack on an integral portion of
the catholic creed is to be found in the representation
of the facts as they present themselves to a frank and
intelligent investigator such as Professor Kirsch. His
treatise is so simple in construction, and so plain in
its conclusions, that any description of its method
and contents is superfluous. In the face of the asser
tions made by the writers named above, it is surely
desirable that all, both catholics and non-catholics,
should have placed before them so excellent a re
statement of the Church s faith concerning the Com
munion of Saints, as Dr. Kirsch has here given us.

II.

But if those, to whom the doctrines and practices
bound up with the belief in the Communion of Saints

x TEANSLATOE S PEEFACE.

have a priceless value, are pained by such attacks as
I have mentioned, they may well rejoice when they
see how elsewhere the saints are gradually coming to
" possess the kingdom " from which they seemed all
but entirely banished in the sixteenth century.

Among the doctrines and practices singled out for
special attack at that period we find conspicuous
those sanctioned by the Church in connection with
the veneration of the saints. There is no need to
quote the utterances of protestant reformers both in
England and on the Continent in support of this
assertion, for it is beyond dispute that all religious
veneration of the saints, all reliance on the power of
their intercession, and all invocation of them whatso
ever was at the beginning of the movement regarded
as anti-Christian and idolatrous. 1 Yet, if we follow

1 Lest these assertions should seem too strong, it may be
well to give a few quotations from the writings of Anglican
reformers : JOHN BALE, Bp. of Ossory ( Yet a Course at the
Romish Fox, 1543), "And whereas ye seek to maintain the
invocation of saints, condemning these books for speaking against
it, ye show yourselves a more foolish heretic, idolater and papist
than any that I can hear of else." BP. RIDLEY (Injunctions of
l SS)j Item. That none maintain purgatory, invocation of
saints . . . rubrick primars with invocation of saints . . .
or any other such like abuses and superstitions, now taken away
by the King s Grace s most godly proceedings" (Works of
Bp. Ridley, Parker Society, p. 319). BP. HOOPER (Early
Writings, Parker Society, p. 35), "What intolerable ill,
blasphemy of God and ethnical idolatry is this, to admit and
teach the invocation of saints departed out of this world ! "
(Ib., p. 36), " So now this worshipper of saints departeth from
the known and almighty God to an unknown god, and pre-
ferreth the doctrine of man and the devil before the scripture of
truth and the living God." BP. LATIMER (Remains, Parker

TRANSLATOR S PREFACE. xi

the development of reformed doctrines in England,
we are arrested by the fact that, unlike protestant
bodies on the Continent, the teachers of the Anglican
Church began, as early as the next generation, to
occupy themselves with the question of the veneration
due to the saints and the practices to which it gave
rise. Gradually the extreme iconoclasm of the pro
testant reformers gave place to the academic specu
lations of the Caroline divines, and it seemed as if
Anglican theologians in the seventeenth century were
in the fair way to agree on certain points of doctrine
and practice with regard to the veneration of the
saints ; such as, that the souls of the Blessed possess
an intelligent 4ife in a state of bliss ; that they inter
cede, in genere at all events, for the welfare of the
Church on earth. They seemed, however, fairly
agreed that the souls of the Blessed are excluded
from the Beatific Vision until the last judgment, and
that all direct addresses to them for their intercession
with God are vain and useless, and even dangerous,
wrong and derogatory to God s honour. 1

Society, p. 186), "But here "learn, by the example of the
disciples, whither thou shalt run in thy distress ; namely to
Christ (for He is the right helper), and not to the saints ; for
when I call upon any creature, I commit most abominable
idolatry."

1 This must not be understood as implying that the Caroline
divines laboured together to construct a definite scheme of
doctrine on these points, or were all perfectly agreed on any
one of them. Their individual opinions have to be gathered
from their writings. Cf. e.g., ARCHBP. USSHER, Answer to a
Jesuits Challange; PREB. THORNDIKE, Epilogue to the Tragedy
of the Church of England, bk. III. chap. xxx. ; BP. MONTAGUE,
Treatise of Invocation of Saints j BP. FORBES OF EDINBURGH,

xii TRANSLATOR S PREFACE.

While the doctrine of the Caroline divines shows a
decided advance upon that of the first generation of
protestant reformers, it is, nevertheless, far removed
from what the Catholic Church declares to be con
tained in the doctrine of the Communion of Saints,
and was, in fact, originally promulgated more or less
in opposition to her teaching. Recently the Caroline
doctrine has in its turn gradually developed into
something much more closely resembling the teach
ing of the Church. During the nineteenth century, a
great change came over the teaching and practice
of Anglicans in regard to the saints reigning with
Christ in heaven, and it is this change which we
maintain should be a source of gratification to those
who have never questioned the Church s doctrine
and practice in this respect. We expect to find
justification for our faith in antiquity; but we
scarcely expected to find one of its distinctive and

Consider ationes Modestae, "de invocatione sanctorum. ; This
writer approaches more closely to the catholic standpoint than
any other Anglican divine of the seventeenth century. The
heading of the 3rd chap, of Part II. of the treatise in question
runs : "Cap. III. in quo solum invocationem sive compellationem
angelorum et sanctorum ut una nobiscum, et pro nobis Deum
orent nee ut illicitum, neque etiam ut inutilem damnandam esse
probatur." ARCHBP. BRAMHALL, Answer to De la Millitiere,
Schism Guarded, and other passages in his writings (Library
of Anglo-Catholic Theology) ; ARCHBP. LAUD, Against Fisher,
sect. 33, c. Later in date, cf. An Essay towards a Proposal
for Catholic Communion, chap. III. (ist ed. 1704); De Statu
Mortuorum et Resurgentium Liber, auctore THOMA BURNETIO,
S.T.P. (London, 1720). The question came up in the discus
sions between the Non-jurors and the Eastern Patriarchs in
the eighteenth century. Cf. G. WILLIAMS, The Orthodox
Church of the East (1868).

TRANSLATOR S PEEFACE. xiii

most controverted doctrines vindicated and main
tained by the spiritual descendants of men who
rejected it with abhorrence. " Mirabilis Deus in
sanctis suis ! "

The statues of the saints broken down in the
sixteenth century "with axes and hammers" have
now been replaced in the altar-screens of St. Albans,
Winchester, All Souls (to mention only a few con
spicuous examples) ; the western fronts of ancient
English cathedrals and larger churches are once
more adorned with figures of martyrs, confessors
and virgins whose memory is held in veneration by
catholics. Yet this, were it all, need be no more
than the indication of a desire to indulge in ecclesi
astical decoration or architectural embellishment.
Lutherans, in recent times, have done the same for
the ancient churches in their possession the Jung
St. Peter-Kirche in Strassburg occurs to one s mind
as an illustration and even in some of their modern
churches statues and paintings of the saints enter
largely into the scheme of decoration. But of
spiritual and religious veneration for the saints there
does not seem to be a trace, either among the
members of protestant bodies on the Continent or
among the nonconformists in English-speaking
countries. It is to the revival of this veneration
for the saints and servants of God among members
of the Anglican Church that we wish to draw
attention. The course of this revival and the extent
to which it has already attained will perhaps be
best understood from a rapid survey of the chief
phases through which it has passed,

xiv TEANSLATOE S PEEFACE.

III.

It was the Tractarian movement which gave the
impetus to this further development of the Anglican
conception of what the Communion of Saints
signifies. The original leaders of the movement
expressed themselves with reserve on the question.
In 1835 Newman declared that "the addresses to
the Blessed Virgin in the Breviary .... carry
with them their own plain condemnation, in the
judgment of an English Christian. . . . These
usages certainly now do bu-t sanction and encourage
that direct worship of the Blessed Virgin and the
Saints, which is the great practical offence of the
Latin Church, and so are a serious evil." l Four
years later, Dr. Pusey writes : " Our Church ....
is content to feel the blessedness of that mystical
union [the Communion of Saints], and with the
assurance that it must be a blessing, without intrud
ing into that holy fellowship with selfish or un
authorized prayers to them to intercede for us
individually, or approaching them with language,
which, if they hear it, must be shocking to them, as
belonging ratner to their Lord." 2 But besides the
" moderate Apostolical party," 3 " a new school of
thought was rising, as is usual in doctrinal inquiries,
and was sweeping the original part of the Movement
aside." It included others besides Oakley " who
knew nothing about the Via Media, but had heard

1 Tracts for the Times, No. 75 ; "On the Roman Breviary,"
pp. 9, 10.

2 Letter to the Bp. of Oxford, 1839, p. 204.

3 NEWMAN, Apologia, p. 269 (ist ed.).

TKANSLATOK S PKEFACE. xv

much about Rome. . . . These men cut into the
original movement at an angle, fell across its line
of thought, and then set about turning that line in
their own direction." 1 They were not content with
the academic discussion of theological opinions such
as satisfied the minds of the Caroline divines. They
travelled abroad, formed friendships with those they
met in foreign countries, and knew the Catholic
Church, not as she is represented by her enemies on
paper, but as an active living organisation. " What
ever our Tractarian friends may have been on this
side of the Channel," says Canon Oakley, "there
could be no doubt of their perfect catholicity on
the other. It was, in fact, of so enthusiastic and
demonstrative a character as to astonish the natives
themselves, and sometimes even perhaps to shame
them. ... In the churches they were always
in a state of prostration, or of ecstasy. Everything
and everybody was charming ; and such a contrast
to England!" It is evident that to people of this
temper of mind " addresses to the Blessed Virgin "
were far removed from being "the great practical
offence of the Latin Church." These were the men
Bishop Bagot had enjoined upon Newman to keep
straight, 3 and he tried to do so, as all the world
knows, by writing Tract XC. He himself has told
us his aim in writing it was " to go as far as was
possible in interpreting the Articles in the direction

1 Ibid., p. 277-278.

2 Historical Notes on the Tractarian Movement (1865), pp.
73 et seq.

3 NEWMAN, op. cit., p. 158 (ist ed.).

xvi TBANSLATOR S PEEFACE.

of Roman dogma." 1 Guarded and tentative as were
the conclusions of the tract in all that relates to
the saints, " friends and opponents discovered that "
Newman s " premises required what" he "was very
unwilling to state categorically, for various reasons,
that the or a pro nobis was not on " his " showing,
necessarily included in the invocation of saints which "
Article XXII. "condemns." 2 Could any admission
be more carefully worded ! However, it was enough.
The revival of the practice of invoking the saints in
the Church of England dates from this hour.

We have seen how Dr. Pusey expressed himself
in 1839. It is not surprising to be told that he was
" much annoyed " at the appearance of Tract XC. and
that " he scarcely agrees with Newman s view, though
he is very kind. A great difficulty with him ....
is that Newman has committed himself to leaving
* Ora pro nobis an open question" 3 Still it was ever
Dr. Pusey s way to make the best of things, and it is
interesting to follow his attempts both to gloss over,
in the first place, the differences of opinion between
himself and Newman, and then, as time went on, to
accommodate himself to the growing practice of
invocation among Anglicans which he was powerless
either to check or to control. In his letter to Dr.
Jelf "in explanation of No. 90," written in 1841, he
endeavours to distinguish between "an address to a
saint, as the result of a momentary feeling, and

1 Ibia., p. 162.

2 NEWMAN, Letter to the Bp. of Oxford ( \ 84 1 ), p. 18.

3 The Rev. R. W. Church to F. Rogers. Letters and Corre
spondence of J. H. Newman, Vol. II., p, 333.

TRANSLATOR S PEEFACE. xvii

habitual prayers to them, as devotion " ; the latter in
his opinion " tends to substitute them in the place of
God, the other does not." l He grants the former
" occasional addresses .... occur in the fourth
century," but goes on to warn Anglicans of " the
risk to their own souls in resuming [the practice],
even in its lightest form," because not " recommended
to us by our immediate Mother." 2 Four years later
Dr. Pusey admitted, in a private letter, " I see things
in Antiquity which I did not (especially I cannot deny
some purifying system in the Intermediate State,
nor the lawfulness of some Invocation of Saints), that
I dare not speak against things." 3 In another private
letter, written shortly after Newman s reception into
the Church, he admits again, " I found that some
Invocation of Saints was much more frequent in the
early Church than I had been taught to think, that it
has very high authority, and is nowhere blamed
. . . . and then I came afterwards to see that the
actual Roman formularies did not assert more on
these subjects (as apart from the popular system or
Popery ) than was in the ancient Church. Practically
then, I dissuade or forbid (when I have authority)
Invocation of Saints ; abstractedly, I see no reason
why our Church might not eventually allow it, in
the sense of asking for their prayers." 4 Nevertheless,
in order to forestall the publication in extenso of
Horst s " Paradisus Animae " by one of the more

1 Dr. PUSEY, Letter to Dr. Jelf (1841), p. 108

2 Ibid., pp. 119, 121.

3 Life of E. B. Pusey, Vol. II., p. 457.

4 Ibid., Vol. III., p. 44.

xviii TRANSLATOR S PREFACE.

advanced school, Pusey brought out his own transla
tion of that work in 1847, "adapted to the use of the
English Church." The adaptation includes the entire
omission of the second section, " de cultu et veneratione
sanctorum cum Christo regnantium in ccelis," and of
as much of the seventh section as relates " de cultu et
veneratione Beatae Virginis Mariae," while elsewhere
throughout the book the angelic salutation is replaced
by some short prayer or ejaculation. In the long
preface, Dr. Pusey states that " however it [invocation]
may be explained by Roman Catholic controversialists
to be no more than asking the prayers of members of
Christ yet in the flesh, still, in use, it is plainly more ;
for no one would ask those in the flesh to * protect us
from the enemy/ receive us in the hour of death/
lead us to the joy of heaven/ * may thy [the Blessed
Virgin] abundant love cover the multitude of my sins/
heal my wounds, and to the mind which asketh thee
give the gifts of graces/ or use any of the direct prayers
for graces which God alone can bestow, which are
common in Roman Catholic devotions to the Blessed
Virgin."

In his letter to the Bishop of London, written in
1851, Pusey does not directly deal with the invoca
tion of saints beyond quoting the above passage from
his preface to the " Paradisus Animae."

This then seems to be the attitude maintained by
Dr. Pusey for some twenty years. Others, however,
less sensitive to what the " immediate Mother " of
Anglicans recommends to her children, and feeling far
from satisfied with so timid and ill-defined a position,
showed by their teaching and practice that they felt

TRANSLATOR S PREFACE". xix

justified in adopting a form of devotion that Newman
had taught them was not condemned by Article
XXII. Anxious to control, and, if possible, confine
the practice within limits that might with some
plausibility be regarded as Anglican, Dr. Pusey first
republished Tract XC. " with an historical introduc
tion " of his own in 1865, and then in his Eirenicon,
of which the first volume appeared the same year,
once more stated his views on the invocation of saints.
By this time he thought it expedient to show how
far he had advanced beyond the position laid down
in his letter to the Bishop of Oxford in 1839. He
now declares " the difficulty (concerning invocation)
never could have arisen" had catholics kept to the
simple statement of the Council of Trent, as explained
by the catechism and Bishop Milner. 1 The same
views are put forth in the " Explanation of the Thirty-
Nine Articles " by Dr. Pusey s friend and disciple,
Bishop Forbes of Brechin, published in 1867-68, which
owes much to Pusey s suggestion and supervision ;
in fact " he supplied almost the whole of the passages
which, under the head of Article XXII., deal with
the subject of Purgatory and the Invocation of
Saints." - The aim of this section of the work is " to
assert the truth of the literal meaning of the Article,
that the doctrine of Romanists on the Invocation of
Saints is a fond thing, vainly invented, and grounded
on no warranty of Scripture, but rather repugnant to
the Word of God ; and then to show what has been
the real mind of the ancient Church upon this point

1 Eirenicon, Vol. I., p. 100, et segq.

2 Life ofE. B. Pusey, Vol. IV., p. 146.

xx TRANSLATOR S PREFACE.

of doctrine." Quotations from the fathers and writers
of the ancient Church are adduced to prove that the
saints were invoked in their day, and it is stated that
no Anglican ought to take exception to such forms
of invocation as are found in their writings. But
then, the popular practice of catholics has ever tended
to go beyond what is authorized by the Council of
Trent and by standard theologians such as Cardinal
Bellarmine and Dr. Klee, and it is against such
popular exaggerations, both in ancient and modern
days, that Article XXII. protests. 1

The substantial development in Dr. Pusey s teach
ing consists in this, that in his earlier days he declared
Anglicans could not use invocation of saints in
any form without risking their salvation, while by
1865 he had brought himself to admit in his pub
lished writings that there was nothing to condemn
the practice so far as it was authorized by the
official statement of the Council of Trent. In fact
his complaint now is that in his opinion the Catholic
Church has not been sufficiently careful in keeping
popular practice within the limits laid down by the
Council.

The more advanced Anglicans were not slow to
take advantage of this change in Dr. Pusey s teaching.
In 1869 appeared a manual of prayers entitled "The
Invocation of Saints and Angels, compiled from
Greek, English and Latin sources for the use of
members of the Church of England," edited by Mr.
Orby Shipley, then a clergyman of that Church. In

1 A. P. FORBES, An Explanation of the Thirty-Nine Articles,
pp. 379-425 (5th ed.)

TRANSLATOR S PREFACE. xxi

the preface the editor states that the book " is intended
to supplement practically the work effected dogmati
cally by these treatises (i.e., Bishop Forbes Explana
tion * ; Canon Rumble s essay in the third series of
* The Church and the World, and the introductory
essay to the reprint of The Femall Glory ) on the
invocation of Saints." The book is made up of
litanies and prayers bearing upon the worship of the
saints, many being directly addressed to individual
saints and to the angels, such as had not been before
presented to Anglicans for their devotional use. In the
same year appeared also the first edition of what is
perhaps the most popular of all Anglican manuals of
prayer, " The Treasury of Devotion." It may not be
too much to say that no other book has had such
an influence upon the devotional life of Anglicans
for now over forty years. In the forms for private
morning and evening prayer in this book, there comes
after the Lord s Prayer "the Angelic Salutation or
Memorial of the Incarnation," which runs as follows :
"The Angel said unto Mary : Hail, thou that art highly
favoured. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou
among women. Amen." Among the "devotions for
saints days," the versicle and respond, " Blessed art
thou among women : And blessed is the Fruit of thy
womb," appear, but beyond this there are no direct
invocations of saints in the book. Still the desire for
the benefit of their prayers is expressed in the following
words from the first forms of morning and evening
prayer : " May the intercessions of the holy Mother
of God, of the Prophets, of the holy Apostles, of the
Martyrs help me ! May all the Saints and Elect of

xxii TRANSLATOR S PREFACE.

God pray for me, that I may be worthy with them to
possess the Kingdom of God. Amen." Dr. John
Wordsworth, Bishop of Salisbury, traces back "the
revival of the practice of Invocation of departed
Saints " to this manual, which he nevertheless feels
bound to call " in many ways a good book." 1

No doubt the last forty years have seen an astonish
ing revival of the practice among a certain school of
Anglicans. In numerous manuals of devotion com
piled for their use, it forms almost as conspicuous a
part as in any catholic prayer book. It is no longer
a question of adaptation. 2 The angelic salutation in
its complete form, the Litany of Loretto, the Salve
Regina and the Ave Maris Stella and other devotions
to saints and angels are now bodily transplanted from
catholic manuals. The recitation of the Holy Rosary
is inculcated along with other ways of manifesting
devotion to the saints. All this shows how deeply
the religious veneration for the saints has already
entered into the spiritual life of a large and influential
section of the Church of England.

It was not, of course, to be expected that an
attempt to alter the doctrine and practice of a body
like the Church of England with reference to the
saints could be effected without encountering serious
and vehement opposition. Accordingly, from the

1 In his Preface to the Rev. H. F. Stewart s Doctrina Roman-
ensium de Invocations Sanctorum, pp. 9, 10.

2 It would be impossible to give a list of these manuals.
"Catholic Prayers," edited by the Rev. A. H. Stanton, and
"The English Catholic s Vade Mecum," are perhaps among the
most widely used.

TRANSLATOR S PREFACE. xxiii

appearance of Tract XC. to the present day, protestant
opposition to the veneration and invocation of saints
has been unceasing. Yet the strength, vehemence,
and persistence of the opposition have, it would seem,
only resulted in the spread and establishment of the
doctrines and practices attacked. It has availed
nothing that those who take the protestant side in
the debate have a tradition of over three centuries
behind them, and have enjoyed the support of the
Anglican episcopate and the majority of the members
of their Church.

In 1904 it was deemed expedient that a Royal
Commission should inquire into the alleged prevalence
of breaches or neglect of the law relating to the
conduct of divine service in the Church of England.
The report of the commissioners was not issued until
June 1906. In this document the commissioners
point out that the evidence they had received of the
use of invocation did not " indicate the full extent to
which prayers to the Virgin and the Saints and
requests for their prayers are prevalent in the Church
of England." 1 " Hymns, prayers and devotions in
volving invocation of, or confession to, the Blessed
Virgin Mary or the Saints " are among the practices
which the commissioners regard as " plainly significant
of teaching repugnant to the doctrine of the Church
of England and certainly illegal," and which they
recommend " should be promptly made to cease by
the exercise of the authority belonging to the Bishops
and, if necessary, by proceedings in the Ecclesiastical
Courts." &lt; Three and a half years have passed since
1 Par. 254 of the Report. 2 Report, pp. 76-77.

xxiv TRANSLATOR S PREFACE.

these " Recommendations " were issued, and no cessa
tion at all of the condemned practices has taken place.
The revival of the practice of invocation does not
seem to have been in the least affected by the action
of the royal commissioners. The Anglican Bishops
in their visitation charges certainly endeavoured to
exert their authority against the practice, but ap
parently with no more effect than the commissioners
themselves. Among the bishops, Dr. John Wordsworth
of Salisbury is prominent for his efforts to see that the
" Recommendations " should be carried into effect in
his diocese. As might be expected from so scholarly
a prelate, his attempts have been marked by careful
moderation, by a desire to base the condemnation of
the veneration and invocation of saints on solid
philosophical and historical grounds, and by entire
fidelity to the tradition of the Caroline divines. In
1907, he contributed an introduction to a treatise
undertaken at his suggestion, " Doctriria Roman-
ensium de Invocatione Sanctorum," by the Rev. H. F.
Stewart, formerly Vice- Principal of the Theological
College at Salisbury. A large portion of Mr. Stewart s
treatise is devoted to the consideration of the doctrine
or, as he calls it, the " theory " of merit, upon which
he considers the veneration of the saints with its
external manifestations are really based. The rest of
the book travels over familiar ground and does not
contribute any fresh ideas to the discussion. The
following year, Bishop Wordsworth published a
lecture on " The Invocation of Saints and the
Twenty-second Article," which he had delivered to
some members of the Society of Sacred Study. In

TRANSLATOR S PREFACE. xxv

the preface, his Lordship states that he has become
aware " that there is a rather active and enthusiastic
propaganda " occupied in spreading the practice of
invocation, and he warns those who compose it that
" if they still continue to circulate books recommending
[invocation] and to inculcate the practice upon the
young .... they must expect to be openly and
individually rebuked, and to bear the reproach of being
disturbers of the peace and work, as well as, in some
degree, of the faith of the Church." l The conclusion
of the lecture is that the clergy of the Church of
England, " having assented to the Article in question,
cannot inculcate the use of the Ave Maria in its six
teenth-century form or the Ora pro nobis as used in
the mediaeval Litanies, or introduce any such invoca
tion of saints into hymns or other forms of worship." 2
On the other hand, the practice finds an able
exponent in the Rev. Darwell Stone, Pusey Librarian
at Oxford, who in 1899 contributed an article on
the subject to the Anglican Church Quarterly Review.
He subsequently republished the article in a separate
form, and it has gone through several editions. 3 In
this, as in Mr. Stone s other writings, we find a sincere
desire to penetrate to the root of the matter, absence
of prejudice in investigating evidence, and a defence
of the conclusions obtained as firm as it is temperate.
It seems that the Anglicans who are in favour of the
revival of invocation have found in Mr. Stone a
champion and spokesman whose qualities impress

1 Op, tit,, pp. 4, 7. 2 Ibid., p. 62.

3 77ie Invocation of Saints, by DARWELL STONE, M.A. New
and enlarged edition, 1909.

xxvi TRANSLATOR S PREFACE.

even their opponents. After adducing the evidence
of the ancient Church in favour of invocation, the
treatise deals with the action of the Anglican Church
in the sixteenth century : " The Church of England,
then, in the course of the Reformation did three
things with regard to the invocation of saints. In
the first place, she entirely removed any kind of
invocation from the service books. Secondly, in the
Articles drawn up in order that they might form a
statement which the clergy must agree not to con
travene in their public teaching, she condemned the
extreme practices and ways of thought in which the
saints had been called upon to grant boons which
are in the power of God alone, and had been given
a prominence in devotion which was derogatory to
the honour of God. Thirdly, in the same document
she left it an open question whether the clergy
might express approval of the practice of invocation
in the limited sense of seeking from the saints the
help of their prayers." 1 It seems as if Mr. Stone is
even a little embarrassed to find a form of invocation
which would fall under the condemnation of Article
XXII. without censuring at the same time the forms
of invocation authorized by the Catholic Church.
Like the Tractarians before him, he draws a dis
tinction : " If the request addressed to the saint is
for his prayers to God, and if it is understood that
any knowledge which he possesses of the request is
the result of his beholding God or receiving revelation

1 Op. cit., p. 49. I do not understand to which of the Articles
Mr. Stone refers, if by "the same document" he alludes to
them.

TEANSLATOE S PREFACE. xxvii

from God, then clearly the making of such request
does not in principle differ from prayer addressed to
God for the prayers of the saints. If, on the other
hand, the request is for gifts which God alone can
grant, or if it is supposed that the saint has inde
pendent knowledge of the words addressed to him,
then, as clearly, such a practice is different in principle
from comprecation. It follows that invocation of
the former kind is lawful, and that invocation of the
latter kind is wrong." l

We may be pardoned if, with Dr. Paget, Bishop
of Oxford, 2 we regard this as " a refined distinction
which would be practically meaningless to most men,"
for it is certainly meaningless to catholics in so far
as catholic theology is clear on the point that the
gifts which the suppliants of the saints implore can
only be given by God alone. No matter what the
wording of the petition to the saint may be, no
matter what the thing prayed for may be, no matter
how unable an individual catholic may be to express
his conviction of the influence of the saint s intercession
with dogmatic accuracy, the teaching of the Church
is plain that God alone is the ultimate Giver of all
gifts spiritual or temporal which the faithful believe
have been obtained from Him through the inter
cession of the saints. 3

1 Of.cit.,pp. 55-56.

2 Visitation Charge, p. 56, quoted by Mr. Stone, note I, p. 56.

3 Cf. CARDINAL WISEMAN, Lectures on the Catholic Church,
Lect. XIII.; "From Him alone can any blessing possibly
come. . . . He is the sole fountain of salvation, and grace,
and of all spiritual, or even earthly, gifts .... no created
being can have any power, energy or influence of its own, in
carrying into effect our wishes or desires."

xxviii TKANSLATOK S PEEFACE.

The chance of a condemnation of the practice by
the authorities of the Anglican Church creates mis
givings in Mr. Stone s mind, for if the clergy by
their acceptance of Article XXII. "may not invoke
the saints in any form of prayer, this in itself would
be sufficiently disastrous as tending to separate
English Church people from the great Fathers of
the East and West and from Catholic Christendom." l
Again he cannot hide from himself the disastrous
results which might ensue from widespread condem
nations of the invocation of saints. " The hope of a
reunited Christendom is a hope which he would deem
it falsity to Christian principle to abandon. How
ever the Church of Rome may some day control
and check unauthorized devotions, it cannot be
anticipated that she will ever reverse the careful
and guarded statements of the Council of Trent on
this subject. And any who should approach her with
a demand for such a reversal would, in the judgment
of the author, be placing themselves in a false position.
If that be so, it follows that to condemn the invoca
tion of saints is to put an unjustifiable barrier in the
way of reunion with the Church of Rome." 2

I have quoted at length from this interesting and
important treatise, not only because it approaches
more nearly to catholic teaching than almost any
other Anglican work on the subject in fact it is
difficult to distinguish in what points Mr. Stone s
belief differs from the teaching of the Church on the
Communion of Saints but also because it seems to
be regarded by friends and foes alike as the best and
1 Op. tit. p. 63. 2 Ibid., 64.

TKANSLATOK S PEEFACE. xxix

fullest, as well as the latest statement of what is held
by a certain section of Anglicans concerning the
invocation of saints. 1

From the publication of Tract XC. to the present
day the religious veneration of the saints has made
steady progress in the Anglican Church. It is no
longer a matter for academic discussion or archaeologi
cal research or mediaeval aestheticism; it is becoming,
nay, it has already become, in the case of a large section
of Anglicans, an integral part of their religious life.
It is this fact we wish to emphasise, for it is among
the more remarkable features of that reaction towards
catholic faith and practice in the Church of England
which is a unique phenomenon in the doctrinal
developments of those churches which owe their origin
and inspiration to the religious upheaval of the six
teenth century.

* * *

In translating the German word Verehrung, I
have used indifferently cultus, veneration, or worship.
The phase " worship of the saints " is one to which non-
catholics take exception, but without just cause, since
we read in the "authorized" and " revised " versions of
the English Bible that " all the congregation . . .
bowed down their heads and worshipped the Lord and
the king (David)." 2 However, for the catholic sense of

1 There is a larger and more elaborate Anglican work on the
same subject : The Invocation of Saints treated theologically
and historically, by H. R. PERCIVAL, D.D., London, 1896, but
it does not seem to have attracted so much attention as Mr.
Stone s treatise.

2 i Chron. xxix. 20.

xxx TKANSLATOB/S PEEFACE.

the phrase, one may refer to Perrone s " Tractatus de
cultu sanctorum," Cap. I. ; Tanquerey s " Synopsis
Theologiae Dogmaticae," De cultu sanctorum, vol. I.,
pp. 616 et seqq. (i2th ed., 1909) ; Cardinal Wiseman s
" Lectures on the Catholic Church," Lect. XIII.

I have added a few references to works which have
appeared during the last ten years.

THE TRANSLATOR.

LONDON, Lent, 1910.

AUTHOR S PREFACE.

NUMEROUS Christian inscriptions belonging to the
second century, and several allusions in Tertullian s
writings, show that the custom of praying for the
departed and commemorating them at the Eucharist
had become a fully developed practice even at that
early date. It is with the view of investigating the
origin and underlying principles of this practice that
I have undertaken to trace the development of the
doctrine of the Communion of Saints during the
early centuries of the Christian era. The result of
my research is given in the following essay, which
forms the first number of the " Forschungen zur
Christlichen Litteratur-und Dogmengeschichte." The
reception of the article " sanctorum communionem "
into the Apostolic Creed of the Gallic Church affords
a chronological limit for these investigations. In
recent years this last question has been treated by
many writers without an altogether satisfactory
explanation having been as yet arrived at. This
was a further inducement to employ the results
already obtained in the essay on the development of
the doctrine of the Communion of Saints for a fresh
examination of this question in the concluding chapter
of the treatise. For the Ante-Nicene period I have
endeavoured to make the fullest possible use of the
sources of information. With regard to writers of

xxxii AUTHOR S PEEFACE.

the fourth and early fifth centuries it was necessary
to make a selection, since it would be impossible
within the limits of such an essay as the following
to quote everything that bears upon the question. I
think, however, the most important passages dealing
with the development of the doctrine have all been
utilized and placed before the reader. Since the
subject is here treated at first hand and in connected
order, I have thought it best in most instances to
give the actual text of the more important passages
adduced as evidence, in order to facilitate the exam
ination of the results arrived at. I may add that
when this treatise was in the press Fr. Marian
Morawski, S.J., began a series of articles on the Com
munion of Saints in the Polish "Przeglad Powszechny"
( Universal Review). The first two articles appeared
in the numbers for September and October 1899,
while a German translation of the first article is to be
found in the " Katholik " for November (II. pp. 385
et seqq.}.

Considering how narrowly the subject is limited,
and that the authorities quoted supply the inquiry
with a simple arrangement, I did not think it neces
sary to add an index rerum.

THE AUTHOR.

INTRODUCTION.

BY " Communion of Saints " we mean the super
natural spiritual union which includes all members
of " the Kingdom of God," whether still alive on
earth or already departed hence for that other state
in which the souls of departed members of that
kingdom continue their existence after death.

The basis of the doctrine of the Communion of
Saints is to be found in what we are taught about
the Kingdom of God, the Church, or as it is called in
the Gospels, the Kingdom of Heaven. Its practical
expression is found in the primitive ages, as well as
at the present day, in intercession, mutual prayers
for one another among those still living on earth, in
prayer for the faithful departed, and in the invocation
of departed members of God s kingdom, in order
that they may intercede with God on behalf as well
of the living as of the dead. It is this last practice
which especially gives prominence to the veneration
and invocation of the saints, z.&lt;?., in the first place, the
martyrs who were regarded as the saints par excellence
in the early Christian ages. Speaking less strictly,
the angels also belong to the Communion of Saints,
since they are occupied in bringing the kingdom of
God to perfection by the protection and help they
bring to the faithful, with the view of aiding them to
attain to their share in the benefits of that kingdom.

2 INTRODUCTION.

The kingdom of God, according to the teaching of
our Saviour, includes not only those members of it
who are alive on the earth, but those as well who have
gone into the perfected kingdom of heaven. On
Christ s return at the last judgment the just will
shine as the sun in this kingdom. 1 The blessed of
the Father go into the kingdom prepared for them. 2
The present and the future kingdoms of heaven are in
a certain sense one and the same ; Christ speaks
of them without distinction. The faithful departed
belong also to the kingdom of God. 3 In the writings
of the apostles, the kingdom of God is frequently
alluded to in terms which depict the life of believers
here below as a participation in that of the heavenly
kingdom, save only that their full and perfect
participation therein is reserved for the world to
come.
/ In this sense, St. Paul, for example, speaks of his

1 St. Matt. xiii. 40-43. Sic erit in consummatione saeculi.
Mittet filius hominis angelos suos, et colliget de regno ejus
omnia scandala, et eos qui faciunt iniquitatem ; et mittent eos
in caminum ignis. Ibi erit flatus et stridor dentium. Tune
justi fulgebunt sicut sol in regno Patris eorum.

2 St. Matt. xxv. 34. Venite benedicti Patris mei, possidete
paratum vobis regnum a constitutione mundi.

3 When our Lord returns He will bring with Him the departed
members of His kingdom, who have therefore not lost their
share in that kingdom, i Thess. iv. 13-15, Nolumus autem vos
ignorare, fratres, de dormientibus, ut non contristemini sicut et
ceteri qui spem non habent. Si enim credimus quod Jesus
rnortuus est et resurrexit, ita et Deus eos qui dormierunt per
Jesum, adducet cum eo. Hoc autem vobis dicimus in verbo
Domini, quia nos qui vivimus, qui residui sumus in adventum
Domini, non prasveniemus eos qui dormierunt.

INTRODUCTION. 3

deliverance unto the heavenly kingdom, 1 and St.
Peter exhorts the faithful to make their election sure
by good works in order that an entrance may be
ministered to them into the everlasting kingdom of
our Lord. 2 _-

St. Paul in several places compares the " saints "
united in the kingdom of God to a body, of which the
members are individual believers, and whose head is
Christ 3 /^ Since he speaks of Christ as the First-born
among many brethren, and of the glory of the elect
in the same connection, it is clear he regards all those
whom Christ has redeemed, both the perfected and
those striving after perfection, as members of the
same body. 4 In the building of that spiritual temple
of God which is made up of the faithful as " fellow-

1 2 Tim. iv. 1 8. Liberavit me Dominus ab omni opere malo ;
et salvum faciet in regnum suum cceleste, cui gloria in specula
sasculorum. Amen.

2 2 Pet. i. 10-11. Quapropter fratres magis satagite ut per
bona opera certam vestram vocationem et electionem faciatis ;
haec enim facientes non peccabitis aliquando. Sic enim
abundanter ministrabitur vobis introitus in regnum ccternum
Domini nostri et Salvatoris nostri Jesu Christi.

3 Rom. xii. 4-5. Sicut enim in uno corpore multa membra
habemus, omnia autem membra non eundem actum habent :
ita multi unum corpus sumus in Christo, singuli autem alter
alterius membra, i Cor. xii. 26-27. Et si quid patitur unum
membrum, compatiuntur omnia membra : sive gloriatur unum
membrum, congaudent omnia membra. Vos autem estis corpus
Christi et membra de membro.

4 Rom. viii. 29-30. Nam quos praescivit, et praedestinavit
conformes fieri imaginis filii sui, ut sit ipse primogenitus in
multis fratribus. Quos autem praedestinavit, hos et vocavit ; et
quos vocavit, hos et justificavit ; quos autem justificavit, illos
et glorificavit.

4 INTRODUCTION.

citizens of the saints," the prophets as well as the
apostles find their place ; they belong in common to
the one " holy temple in the Lord." l

This union of the faithful "the saints" in the
primitive sense of the word in one and the same
body of Christ, in one and the same temple
of God, brings them into spiritual relations with
one another, which in turn find expression (for
example) in the prayers which the apostle of the
Gentiles addressed to God on behalf of the members
of the Churches he had founded, and also in the
petitions by which the Christians commended the
apostle s labours to God. In many passages of St.
Paul s epistles we find allusions to these mutual inter
cessions. To the congregations in Rome, Philippi,
Thessalonica and Colossa, St. Paul writes that he
remembers them in his prayers, while he assures the
Colossians of the solicitude Epaphras has for them, a
solicitude which finds vent in prayers on their behalf. 2

The apostle moreover asks the Christians of these
and other congregations he had founded to pray for
him, and attributes the success of his undertakings to
the prayers which they had addressed to God for
him. Thus, amon^ the exhortations addressed to

1 Ephes. ii. 19-22. Ergo jam non estis hospites et advenas,
sed estis cives sanctorum et domestic! Dei, superaedificati super
fundamentum apostolorum et prophetarum, ipso summo angulari
lapide Christo Jesu : In quo omnis aedificatio conctructa crescit
in babitaculum Dei in Spiritu.

2 Rom. i. 9-10. Testis enim mihi est Deus, cui servio in
spiritu meo in evangelic Filii ejus, quod sine intermissione
memoriam vestri facio semper in orationibus meis. Cf. Phil, i,
3-5 ; Col. i. 9 ; ib, iv. 12 ; Rom. x. i ; 2 Thess. i. 11.

INTRODUCTION. 5

the Ephesians, we find the request to pray for " all j
the saints." 1

The Epistle of St. James also exhorts all the faith
ful to pray for one another. 2 &gt; Such mutual inter
cessions are moreover in full accord with the teaching
of our Saviour Himself, for when our Blessed Lord
enjoins us to pray for our enemies it is plain, as we
see from the parallel passage in St. Matthew, 3 that to
pray for anyone is to confer a benefit upon him, and
hence it follows that the members of the kingdom of
God, before everything else, discharge this labour of
love to one another. The prayer of intercession for
others is frequently mentioned in the Old Testament
as well. The prophets especially occupied a media
torial position between God and the chosen people,

1 Rom. xv. 30-32 : Obsecro ergo vos, fratres, per Dominum
nostrum Jesum Christum, et per caritatem sancti Spiritus, ut
adjuvetis me in orationibus vestris pro me ad Deum, ut liberer
ab infidelibus, qui sunt in Judaea, et obsequii mei oblatio accepta
fiat in Jerusalem sanctis, ut veniam ad vos in gaudio per volun-
tatem Dei et refrigerer vobiscum. Cf. 2 Cor. i. 9-11 ; Phil. i.
19 ; Col. iv. 2-3 ; i Thess. v. 25 ; 2 Thess. iii. i. Eph. vi. 17-19:
Et galeam salutis assumite, et gladium Spiritus, quod est
verbum Dei ; per omnem orationem et obsecrationem orantes
omni tempore spiritu, et in ipso vigilantes in omni instantia et
obsecratione pro omnibus sanctis, et pro me, ut detur mini
sermo in apertione oris mei cum fiducia, notuin facere
mysterium evangelii. Cf. Heb. xiii. 18.

2 St. James v. 16 : Confitemini ergo alterutrum peccata vestra,
et orate pro mvicew-vA salvemini : multum enim valet depre-
catio justi assidua.

3 St. Matt. v. 44-45 : Ego autem dico vobis : Diligite inimicos
vestros, benefacite his qui oderunt vos, et orate pro persequen-
tibus et calumnientibus vos : ut sitis filii Patris vestri qui in ccelis
est. Cf. St. Luke vi. 28.

6 INTRODUCTION.

on account of the prayers which they offered for them
to Jehovah when occasion called for it. 1

In the apostolic period, common prayers were from
the first offered up at the eucharistic celebration in
the Christian congregations " for all men, for kings
and for all that are in high station " ; a practice
which more than anything else throws light upon the
conception which Christians of the first age had
formed of intercessory prayer. 2

According to the representations of St. John s
Apocalypse, the souls of the saints who had been
slain for their faith pray to God even after death.
The seer beheld under the altar in heaven the souls
of them that were slain for the word of God, and
they cried with a loud voice to the Lord to ask why
He did not judge and revenge their blood on them
that dwell on the earth. 8 In another passage, the
writer represents " the ancients " and the angels in
heaven offering to God the prayers of "the saints,"
i.e., the faithful. 4 In these passages we have the idea
presented to us that the blessed spirits who serve
God in glory are not unmindful of those members

1 Cf., e.g., Jer. xlii. 2 ; Baruch i. 13 ; 2 Mach. i. 6.

2 i Tim. ii. 1-4 : Obsecro igitur primum omnium fieri obse-
crationes, orationes, postulationes, gratiarum actiones pro
omnibus hominibus : Pro regibus et omnibus qui in sublimitate
sunt, ut quietam et tranquillam vitam agamus in omni pietate
et castitate. Hoc enim bonum est et acceptum coram Salva-
tore nostro Deo, qui omnes homines vult salvos fieri et ad
agnitionem veritatis venire. There can be no doubt that what
is meant here is the common prayer of the congregation. Cf.
PROBST, Liturgie der drei ersten christL Jahrh., p. 24.

3 Apoc. vi. 9-10.

4 Apoc. v. 8 ; viii. 3-4.

INTRODUCTION. 7

of the kingdom of God who are on earth, but present
their prayers as an offering before God on the
heavenly altar. The possibility of a participation in
the affairs of the faithful on earth on the part of the
heavenly spirits underlies the apocalyptic representa
tion. 1

It goes without saying that according to the con
ception of St. Paul and of the believers in apostolic
times, the intercessions of Christians for one another
were not useless and ineffectual. How else would it
have entered into their minds to pray for one another
at all ? They must have been convinced of this,
that by such intercessions they were able to obtain
the divine assistance for others, in the same way as
they could obtain it for themselves through their
own prayers.

This conception of the apostle and of the churches
he had founded, taken in conjunction with the idea
of the intimate union existing between all members
of the kingdom of God, and taken along with the
representation of the Church as the one body of
which each individual is a member, forms the basis
of the doctrine of the Communion of Saints. This
doctrine without doubt formed part of the apostolic
preaching. Add to this, the references to the relation
between "the saints" on earth and the spirits who
are occupied in the service of God, and we have
the elements out of which has been developed the

1 There may be a reference in this connection to the words
of our Lord in St. Matt, xviii. 10 : Videte ne condemnatis unum
ex his pusillis : dico enim vobis, quia angeli eorum semper
vident faciem Patris mei, qui in ccelis est.

8 INTRODUCTION.

whole teaching concerning (i) the intercourse enjoyed
by the faithful here below among themselves; (2)
between the faithful on earth and the souls of the
just who have passed into the world to come ; and
(3) between them and the angels.

PART I.

THE EVIDENCE FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE COM
MUNION OF SAINTS IN THE FIRST AGE OF
THE CHURCH (UNTIL ABOUT 180 A.D.).

EXPECTATIONS of the near approach of the end of
the world were prominent and widespread among
Christians in the sub-apostolic period, as indeed they
had been during the lifetime of the apostles them
selves. The near return of Christ to complete His
kingdom on earth was the object of earnest desire,
In this kingdom all were to have a share in the
perfect redemption who had shown themselves worthy
thereof by a faithful fulfilment of the Lord s com
mands both the departed and those still living on
the earth. 1 Expectations of this nature cannot have
been without considerable influence upon the con
ceptions formed of the relation between the faithful
on earth to one another and to the faithful departed,
and also to the Old Testament saints (the patriarchs
and prophets) who have their special place too in
the economy of redemption, as well as to the departed
apostles and their immediate disciples} The inter-

1 Cf. in particular ATZBERGER, Geschichtc der christl. Es-
chatologie innerhalb der vornicdnischen Zeitj Freiburg, 1896,
introduction (p. I et seqq.} and chap i. (p. 40 et seqq.\

10 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

communion of all the members of Christ s mystical
body received a special character from the circum
stance that Christ s second advent, by which that
body was to be brought to perfection, was regarded
as imminent 1 As the organisation of the Christian
communities gradually took definite shape, and the
liturgy with its common prayers developed, so too
did the hope that the faithful departed still remain
active living members of the kingdom of God become
stronger, with the result that the vital connection of
all members of the kingdom of God to one another
found ever clearer expression. As the conception
of a speedy return of Christ to judgment gradually
receded into the background, the distinction became
more prominent between^God s earthly kingdom (i.e.,
the body of all true believers on earth) and the
heavenly kingdom, where Christ reigns as the risen
and glorified God-Man. To the latter belong the
faithful departed, though all do not share in it to
the same degree, and as to the manner in which
they shared in it, different views were developed by
different Christian teachers. Nevertheless, we every
where find the conviction of a vital intercommunion
between all the faithful, both living and departed,
and of their special relations to the holy spirits of
God. It is this conviction which forms the founda
tion upon which was developed the doctrine of the
Communion of Saints^which, it is important to

1 Nothing was revealed concerning the precise date of the
second advent ; it was to remain hidden from mankind just as
the hour of death was to be hidden from each individual. Cf.
St. Matt. xxiv. 36 ; i Thess. v. 2 ; St. Mark xiii. 35.

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 11

remark, found from the beginning practical expres
sion in the Christian life. 1 }

1 It is scarcely necessary to point out that, as ATZBERGER
(op. cit. p. 85 note) shows, the character of the writings belong
ing to the period under review does not lead us to look for
a more detailed discussion of these questions. JThe evidence
available for the ideas of the period is limited to a few expressions
of contemporary writers and a few statements in inscriptions
and acts of martyrs belonging to the second century. However,
the existence of the essential idea of the Communion of Saints
is thereby proved beyond all reasonable doubt, j

12 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

CHAPTER I.

THE INTERCESSIONS OF THE FAITHFUL FOR .ONE
ANOTHER.

THE vital intercommunion in religious matters between
individual believers, and one Christian community
with another, finds outward expression in those mutual
intercessions which^both in the apostolic period and
at the present day, they offer up for each other to
God and to Christ. An additional proof of the firm
conviction that intercession obtained assistance for
others from God is to be found in the fact that such
prayers were offered up even for those who were not
Christians. So strongly were the faithful convinced
that it was their duty, as the chosen people of God, to
pray to Him for the welfare of the whole world, that
they prayed even for those who had charge of the
temporal well-being of the State, and indeed for all
men indiscriminately. Since they were confident of
obtaining benefits by their prayers for such as these,
they must have had a still deeper conviction that
their prayers could obtain God s grace and assistance
for those who were their brothers in the faith.

Frequent allusions to intercessory prayer are found
in the first epistle of St. Clement to the Corinthians
and in the epistles of St. Ignatius. St. Clement of
Rome exhorts the Christians of Corinth to pray for
sinners that they may be humble and self-controlled,

IN THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 13

and so submit to the divine will. An example is
quoted from the Old Testament, namely, Esther, who
prayed to God in fasting and humiliation : God had
regard to the humility of her soul and delivered the
people for whose sake she had exposed herself to
danger. 1 With this example before them Christians
could pray for those in sin, " for so shall the com
passionate remembrance of them with God and the
Saints be fruitful unto them and perfect" 2

This reference to the example in the Old Testament
is important. Owing to the position given to the
Jewish sacred books by their use in primitive Christian
communities, such religious practices as found a
parallel in these writings took root all the more easily
among the Christian people. St. Clement here lays
stress upon the fact that if the disturbers of the peace
submit to the will of God the intercessions offered up
will avail for them. We may also point out that
the substantive jmaeta and the corresponding verb
/uLe/uLvrja-Oai are employed with reference to intercession
in the earliest times. Even in St. Clement s time
they must have had this special signification, since he
uses them without any further explanation. There is
some difficulty in arriving at the exact meaning con
veyed by " the saints " who are placed in such close
connection with God. The reference may be to the
just of the Old Testament, seeing Clement has just

1 i CLEMENTIS ad Corinthios, lv. 6 (ed. Funk, p. 129 sq.\

2 Ib. Ivi. I. Kai T7/,eis oiV ^vr^w^fv irepl rCov Zv TIVL TrapaTTTw/icm
vTrapx^fwv, #TTWS dodrj avrols ^TrieiKeia, Kal TaTreivofppoffvvi] &s rb aai
auroi)s /AT? Tjfdv, ciAXa ry #e\T7/xari roO Qeov ; oiJrcos yap &TTCU airrois

Kal reXda i] TT/JOS rbv Qebv /cat TOI)S ayiovs /xer

14 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

appealed to the example of Esther. However, the
use of the term "saints" in early Christian literature
to denote the faithful belonging to the communion of
the Church leaves no doubt that it denotes them in
this passage. The most probable opinion is that the
words refer to the common prayers of the congrega
tion which were offered up at their liturgical gather
ings for such as had erred from the faith. 1

The Christians of the Roman Church go on to
speak of the ceaseless prayers and supplications
addressed to God that the Creator of the universe
may guard intact unto the end the number that hath
been numbered of His elect through His beloved
Son, Jesus Christ. 2 Then follows that magnificent
prayer which, as Uuchesne rightly says, 3 is a fine
specimen of the solemn prayer uttered by the ecclesi
astical president at a liturgical reunion. In it we
find intercessions for all the faithful who are in
tribulation, for the " wanderers " of God s people
that they may turn from their evil ways, 4 for the
peace and concord of Christians and all who dwell
on the earth. This practice of remembering the
brethren and offering up special intercessions for
them in the solemn prayers at the eucharistic

1 Cf. LIGHTFOOT S note to the passage. Apostolic Fathers,
Pt. I., Vol. II., p. 163.

2 i Clem, ad Cor. lix. 2. Ed. FUNK, p. 134.

3 DUCHESNE, Origines du culte Chretien, 2nd ed. p. 49.

4 This intercession for sinners in the solemn prayer of St.
Clement s epistle is the best explanation of the exhortation to
prayer in chap. Ivi. already mentioned. The common prayer in
the eucharistic assembly is the " memorial before God and the
saints."

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 15

assembly deepened the sense of the efficacy of these
prayers, and moved the faithful individually to do &lt;
the same for one another. The liturgical usages in
general, which owed their origin to the teaching and
practice of the apostles, exercised an ever active
influence on the belief of Christians and on those
practices of the Christian life which sprang from
these beliefs. The liturgy was in many ways the
guardian of apostolic tradition. This is undoubtedly
the case with regard to the intercessions of Christian
communities for their own members and for all the
faithful in general.

Intercession occupies an important place in the
epistles of St. Ignatius of Antioch, being referred to
in one connection or another in each of them. In
some passages, the saint begs for the prayers of those
to whom he writes, for himself that he may be
partaker of martyrdom, that he may rise again in
his bonds, that he may attain unto God, that he
may be found to be a true disciple of Christ, and that
he may be justified through Christ s death and
resurrection. 1 On another occasion he exhorts the
churches to which he writes to pray for the Church
in Antiorh and Syria, 2 or for the heretics that they
may be converted, 3 or more especially for all meruL-
Again, he speaks with gratitude of the effect obtained
by the intercessions of the faithful for the restoration

1 AdEphesios, xi. 2 ; xx. i ; ad Magnesios, xiv.; ad Trallianos,
xii. 3 ; ad Romanes, iii. 3 ; iv. 2 ; viii. 3 ; ad Philadelphenses, v.
i ; viii. 2 ; ad Smyrntzos, xi. 3.

&gt;2 Ad Ephes., xxi. 2 ; ad Magn., xiv. ; ad Trail., xiii. i ; ad
Rom., ix. i.

3 Ad Smyrn.y iv. i ; ad Ephes., x. 2. 4 Ad Ephes., x. i.

16 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

of peace in Antioch. 1 St J^olycarp enjoins upon
the Christians of Philippi to pray for all " saints," for
kings, rulers and princes, for those who hate and
persecute the Christians, for the enemies of the Cross. 2
The reference is plainly to the common prayers which
were uttered at the eucharistic celebration.

The third prayer of the AiSaxv is for the Church
of the Lord in general (the term /uLv^o-Otjri being
again employed to denote intercession), that she may
be delivered from all evil, and perfected in His love. 3
Of special importance is the exhortation inserted
into the "Way of Life" in the same document not
merely to pray for enemies according to the sayings
of our Lord, but to fast for those who persecute the
faithful. 4 It follows from this that an intercessory
character was attributed not only to prayers but to
other good works as well ; that the divine assistance
could also be obtained for those for whom one per
formed works of mortification. This idea helps to
explain the fact that martyrdom the highest ex
pression of love to God and the work most well-
pleasing to the Lord was regarded as having an
intercessory character in God s sight. We shall
return to this point later on.

The exhortation at the end of the epistle of
Barnabas begging the readers to be mindful of the
writer in order that his desire and watchfulness may

1 Ad Philad., x. I ; ad Smyrn., xi. I, 3 ; ad Polycarpmn, vii. i.

2 Ad Pkihpp., xii.

3 Doctrina XII. Apostolorum x. 5 : Mv^o-^^rt, ittpie, r^s
KK\i)(ria.s aov rou pvaacrdai airrfyj curb Travrbs Trovrjpou KO.I

jv tv rrj ayaTry ffov.

Ib. i. 3 Ni/oretfere de uTrep r&v

IN THE ANCIENT CHUKCH. 17

be successful is also to be taken as a request for
intercession. 1

Justin Martyr in his first apology states that the
prayers offered up at the Eucharist following on the
administration of baptism include the faithful actually
present, the newly baptised, and all mankind. 2

The prayers and fasts practised by the faithful along
with the catechumens, by which the former in con
junction with the latter implore from God forgiveness
for past sins, are avowedly intercessory in character. 3
In this passage we again meet with the intercessory
virtue of mortifications, which we touched upon above.

vThus the intercessions of the faithful for one another
and for all mankind, in conjunction with fasting
undertaken also for the sake of others, have been
practised by Christians from the apostolic period.)
This rests upon the teaching and practice of the
apostles and of our Lord Himself, and is immediately
connected with the firm conviction expressed in the
books of the Old Testament that the prayer of the
just has great power with God. This conviction of
the primitive Church forms the starting point for the
fuller development of the doctrine of the Communion
of Saints and for the practices to which it gave rise
in the religious life of believers.^)

1 BARNAB^E, Epist. xxi. 6 : EL 8t n s foriv dyadov /j.veia,
fj.vr]/j.ovVTe fj.ov /ueXcT&VTes raOra, iva Kal 17 eiridi&gt;/j.ta /ecu ?/ aypvirvia.
el s rt ayadbv x^Pfaltl-

2 JUSTIN, Apologia, 1. 65 (ed. Otto, I., i. p. 176):

KOivas evx&s TroiT/croyuevoi virtp re eavruiv Kal TOV
Kal &\\&lt;i)v Travraxov iravTUv eur6j / ws. Cf. Apol, /., 15, 17 5
cum Try phone, 35.

3 Apol, 1. 6 1 (ib. p. 164).

18 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

CHAPTER II.

THE RELATION OF THE ELECT IN HEAVEN TO
THE FAITHFUL ON EARTH.

THE departed "saints" even after death remained
true members of the Kingdom of God. We have
seen how, according to St. Paul s teaching, they will
return with Christ at the second advent for the
completion of the kingdom of heaven. Numerous
passages in early Christian writings prove that the
justified souls in the world to come are in a state of
blessedness prepared for them by God ; stand in a
special relation to God and Christ ; and are partakers
of the final election, and this irrespective of whether
their condition is represented as one of transition,
which is to come to an end at the second advent,
or as final and exempt from all further change in
essentials. This is not the place for a full treatment
of these points of eschatology. 1 Having shown in
the first chapter in what spiritual relations the faith
ful on earth stand to one another, our business is now
to examine in what light the communion of the
faithful with departed members of the Kingdom of
God was regarded in the sub-apostolic age. It is to

1 We can set these questions aside all the more easily as
they are excellently dealt with at great length by ATZBERGER,
Geschichte der christl. Eschatologie in der vornicdnischen Zeit.
Cf. especially pp. 72-92. His conclusions are here taken for
granted.

IN THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 19

be noted in this connection that certain among the
elect were regarded as being in a special sense perfect
servants and imitators of our Lord, and as such were
held up before the faithful as the perfect members
of Christ s Kingdom.

i. Amongst those who enjoy special honour in the
Kingdom of God, we find the apostles hold the fore
most rank. In his epistle to the Corinthians, St.
Clement says that the apostles SS. Peter and Paul,
after having suffered martyrdom, went to the appointed
place of glory, attained to the holy place. 1 St. Polycarp
holds up before the eyes of the Philippians the example
of Paul and the other apostles, along with some local
saints who had finished their course. 2 The apostles
and their first disciples and fellow-helpers in spreading
the Kingdom of God occupy a special position in the
building of the tower in Hernias . The square white
stones which fit exactly into each other are the apostles,
bishops, teachers and deacons who have lived in godly
purity and have exercised their orifice chastely and
reverently to the advantage of the elect of God. 3 In
the same way the angel of repentance, in the ninth
Similitude, explains to Hermas the meaning of the
stones which were taken out of the pit and fitted
into the building ; " The first ten which were placed
as a foundation are the first generation, and the
twenty-five the second generation of just men ; and

1 I Clem ad. Corinthios, v. 4 : Ilerpov, 6 s . . fj-aprvprjo-as
et s rbv 6&lt;j&gt;ei\6fj.evov rb-jrov TTJS 56?;y. 7 : [IlaOXos] /uapTvpr)&lt;ra.s
TUV i]yovfj.^vuv, oi/rws dTrrjXKdyrj TOV Kbcr^ov xal et j rbv Hyiov rbirov

2 POLYCARPI, ep. ad Philipp. ix. ; see below.

3 HERMAS, Pastor, Visio, iii. 5.

20 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

the thirty-five are the prophets of God and His
ministers ; and the forty are the apostles and teachers
of the preaching of the Son of God." 1 In succession
to the Old Testament patriarchs and prophets, the
apostles followed as the divinely laid foundation of
the Church. With regard to the activity of the
apostles and teachers, even after death, we have a
characteristic touch in the view developed by Hermas
in the section which follows. The apostles and
teachers, represented by the forty stones, after falling
asleep in the power and faith of the Son of God,
preached to the departed saints of the Old Testament
and gave them the seal of the preaching. By their
means the Old Testament worthies were quickened
and made to know the name of the Son of God, and
along with them built into the tower. 2 That the souls
of the departed apostles and ancient teachers are still
able in the future state to labour in one way or
another for the Kingdom of God, lies at the heart of
this conception of Hermas.) There is, however, no
indication of any activity exercised by them on
behalf of the faithful still living on earth.

2. In the passages already quoted from the epistle
to the Corinthians, St. Clement lays stress on the fact

1 Ib. Similitude, ix. 5.

2 Pastor, SimiL ix. 16: Atar, jnjpt, Kvpte, /ecu oi // \L0oi /ACT
OLVT&V avtfiyffav e /c TOV jBvOov, TJdf) eff^Kores TT]V (r&lt;j&gt;pay?b a ; "On, (pr/criv,
OVTOL ot aVocrroXot /ecu oi 5i5dcr/eaXoi oi KTjpv^dvTes TO ovofj.0. TOV viov TOV
0eov Koi/AT]6vTes fv dvvdfAei KCU TrtVret TOV viov TOV 6eov eKripv^av real rois
Trpo/ce/coiyU.T^J ois /cat auroi ZowKav CLVTOIS TT]V cr^paylda TOV Kypify/MiTos.
Kare/3??&lt;raj o5v /xer aurwv et s r6 vdup /ecu TrctXtj avtfi rjffa.v. . .
Ata TOVTUV ovv faoTroir)dT](ra.i&gt; /cat eirtyvuvav rd ovo/^a TOV VLOV TOV
0eor 5id TOVTO Kal &lt;rvt&gt;avtp-rjcrai /*er avTuv /eat ffvvrjp/j.ba-dycrav ets
TT]V 6iKodofJiT]v TOV TTvpyov Kal dXaroyU^rot

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 21

that the apostles Peter and Paul departed from this
world by martyrdom, and so have arrived at the place
of glory. In early Christian writings it is always the
martyrs, who, by undergoing a violent death for the
confession of the true faith, and thus resembling our
Lord in their death, who are represented as the most
conspicuous members of God s Kingdom. Martyrdom
opens the way infallibly to God and His Heavenly
Kingdom. " It is good," writes St. Ignatius to the
Romans (ii. 2), "to set from the world unto God that
I may rise unto Him." Therefore he begs the Roman
Christians not to hinder him from becoming a sacrifice
to God while there is still an altar ready. And again
(iv.), " I exhort you, be ye not an unseasonable kind
ness to me. Let me be given to the wild beasts, for
through them I can attain unto God. I am God s
wheat, and I am ground by the teeth of wild
beasts that I may be found pure bread of Christ."
No less strongly does he express himself to the
Christians of Ephesus, who are a halting place for
those who by martyrdom are on their way to God. 1
St. Poly carp calls those who are in bonds for Christ
copies of the true love, their bonds are the diadems
of them that be truly chosen of God and Christ. 2
Martyrdom is the surest sign of election. Polycarp

1 IGNATIUS, ad Ephes. xii. 2 : Ha/aoSos eo-re TUV e u 6ebv
ava.LpoviJ.Gvwv. llav\ov crv/mfjiucrraL, TOV rjyiao /n.evov, TOV lUfMprrvpfllfl4vov t

diO/j.aKapi&lt;TTOv, o3 yvoLTb /J.OL virb TO. tx^rj evpedyvcu, OTav deov eiriTuxu.

2 POLYCARPUS, ad Philipp. i. I : Zvvexapyv vfuj&gt; /^ciXws eV
Kvptq ijiut,u}v Ir](rov Xpicrr^ 5ea ) uej 0is ra /xt/a^ara rrjs d\i]dous dyd.Tn]s /cat

iv, ujs firtfiaXev v/juv, rovs eVetATj/^vous ro?s ayioTrpeirfout
s, drivd ecrriv dia.d fjfj.a.Ta r&v a\77#w? virb deov KO.I TOV Kvplov y/j.^v

22 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

holds up the martyrs along with the apostles before
the faithful of Philippi as their example because they
have gone to the Lord by the right way. " We are
persuaded," he writes, " that all these ran not in vain,
but in faith and justice, and that they are in their due
place in the presence of the Lord, with whom also
they suffered." 1 In the mystic towers of Hernias
Visions, the stones taken out of the pit and exactly
fitted to the other stones of the building are the
martyrs ; they require no further preparation for the
Heavenly Kingdom, and are at once added to the
Old Testament saints, to the apostles and to their
fellow-workers. 2 In the ninth Similitude the Pastor
explains to Hermas that the stones employed in
building the Church which came from the eleventh
mountain, where are trees full of fruits, are they who
suffered for the name of the Son of God. To the
further question of Hermas, why the fruits are
different, he replies that all who have suffered for the
Lord s name are honourable before God ; and of all
these their sins were remitted, because they suffered
for the name of the Son of God. The difference
between the fruits is due to the fact that some
endured torture and death freely and willingly, but
others were cowardly and fearful. 8 ) Here we come

1 Ib. ix. 2 : HeTreifffjitvovs, tin OVTOL irdvTes OVK ei s Ktvbv

aXX fv TrLffrei /cai diKaioffvvr], /cat on et s TOV 6(pei\6fj.evov atrois TOTTOV
eiffl Trapa T&lt; Kvplip &lt;Jj Kal avvtiradov.

2 Pastor, Visio III. 5 : Oi 5t CKTOU fivOov eX/co^ej/oi MU&rtn0tf/MHK
els TT/V 6iKodofj,T]v Kal o~vfj.(f)wvo\jvTes rats ap/noyaus avr&v yaerd T&V
ertpwv \L9dv TUV -IjSr] ^Kodofj.rjfj.^vwv rives daiv oZroi etffiv ol ira66vTes

TOV opo/uaros TOV Kvpiov.

3 Siwilitudo ix. 28 : "A/coue, Qrjaltr oeoi TTOT tiraQov dia TO 6vo/j.a,

IN THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 23

across a new element in the idea of" martyrdom its
power to atone for sin. This is stated without
qualification ; all the faithful who confess Christ
by death are thereby completely purified from all the
sins they have committed during their life, and attain
unto the Lord^ They are on this account honourable
before God, or, as Hermas states in another passage,
the place on the right " among the saints " is appointed
to them in heaven, while that on the left side belongs
to the rest. " Both for those who sit on the right and
those who sit on the left there are the same gifts and
promises ; only those sit on the right and have a
certain glory." l Further light on the primitive
Christian conception of martyrdom is thrown by
Justin Martyr. In his dialogue with the Jew Trypho
he lays stress on the fact that Christians rejoice when
they are put to death, for they have not the least
doubt that God, through His Christ, will awaken
them again to life, and will make them incorruptible,
impassible and immortal. 2 In his Apology he de
clares that Christians are ashamed to deny their faith,

etffi irapd TOJ 6ef, /cat TTCLVTUV TOUTUV ai d^a/m ai dtpyptdrjffav, on
did TO 5vo/j.a TOV vtov TOV deov.
^Pastor, Visio III. I, i (FUNK, Pair. Ap. I., 354) : tit
TO, 5eta ^pt) rdiro^ &\\&lt;iiv ^crrtx, T&V ^77 evrjpfffTrjKdTwv r&lt; 0e /cat
iradovTuv eiVe/ca TOV 6v6fJ.a.TOS ffol de TroXXd \eLirei, iVa fier atiruv Ka6iarif
dXXd (jjs ^/iyU^vets rfj aTrXor^rt &lt;rov, /meivov, /cat Ka.6ifj yuer avrCjv /cai tftroi
^dv tpyaffuvrai ra tudv^v fyya /cat uTrfveyKwaiv & /cat titelvoi v-
Ti, (f&gt;rifj.l, vTrrjvcyKav ; "A/coue, fy-qaw /id(rri7ay, 0uXa/cdr, 6\i
ffravpoi/s, BTjpia ZiveKfv TOV 6v6fj.a,TOS 5td rouro eKftvuv iar iv TO. de^ia,
TOV a7td(Tyuaroj /cat 8s av iradrf dia TO 6vo^a~ rCiv d Xoiir&v rd
effTiv. AXXd d/x^oT^wj/, /cat r&v IK de^iuv /cat T&V
v, TO. dura 5&pa Kal at aiVai tirayye\iai /JLOVOV tK
/cat -% ov(TLV 5&lt;5ai Tivd.

2 Dial cum Try phone, 46 (ed. OTTO I. I, p. 156).

24 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

although by so doing they might save their lives, for
their whole aim and object is to attain to the eternal
and pure life, and to the abode in company of God
the Father and Creator of all ; therefore the Christians
hasten to confess their faith, persuaded and convinced
that this blessedness is really to be obtained by those
who have proved to God by their works that they
cleave to Him and love that abode with Him where
there is no evil. 1 The martyr Lucius gave expression
to the same thought when condemned to death by
Urbicus, for when he was brought before the judg
ment seat he openly stated that he professed his
thanks for his condemnation, knowing that he was
delivered from such wicked rulers, and was going to
the Father and King of Heaven. 2

Melito of Sardis also bears witness to the belief
of the primitive Christians that sins were taken away
by martyrdom, even as by baptism. 3 t^The same
thought probably underlies the passage in the letter
of the Church of Smyrna on Polycarp s martyrdom,

1 Apologia I., 8 (ed. OTTO, I. i., p. 26) : ToO yap alwtov /cat
KO.Qa.pov /3t ou tTTidvfjiovvTes rrjs yuera deov TOV TT&VTWV Trarpbs /cat 8rj/ut.Lovpyou
diaywyTjs dvTiTroiov/J.eda, /cat fffrevdo/uev e-rrl TO 6fj.o\oyeiv, 61 TreTrei(r/J.ti&gt;oi Kal
TrtoreiWres TW^elv TOI /TWV dvvaadai TO()S rbv 0ebi&gt; 8C pyw&gt; Tretcra^ras on
ai&gt;T$ ei-rrovTO /cat T??S Trap aury diaywyTJs tfpuv, evQa. /ca/cta oik avTiTVireT.

2 Apol II., 2 (ed. tit. I., i., p. 202): 6V /cat ^LV et&Wt
a^oAoyei, TTQV^^V deaTTOTuv T&V TOIOVTWV a7rr]\\dxdai yivuaKwv /cat irpbs
rbv Trar^pa /cat /3a&lt;rt\^a rcDv ovpavuv -rropeveaBai. Cf. Apol. II., i.,
where it is said that the virtuous and those who lived like
Christ shall be with God in a state that is free from suffering.
Ada mart. S. Justini, 5 (ed. OTTO, II., p. 276) ; Martyrium
S. Polycarpi, 2 (ed. FUNK, Pair. Apost. i., 284).

3 MELITO, Fragm. (ed. OTTO, Corp. Apol. ix. p. 418) : AI /O

yap avv{&lt;TTr} ra a&lt;pe&lt;nv aiu.apTijfj.dTuv irapexo/J-eva, irados 5td X/)icrr^ /cat

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 25

where it is said that the martyrs despised the torments
of the world, and by one hour s suffering redeemed
themselves from eternal punishment. These words,
in conjunction with what follows, imply that Christians
who denied the faith, when condemned lo death,
incurred eternal punishment. &gt; The letter goes on to
say that the good things laid up for such as endure
were revealed to the martyrs in their bodily sufferings,
inasmuch as they were no longer men, but had already
become angels. 1 Of St. Polycarp himself it is said
he had acquired the crown of immortality, and now,
with the apostles and all the just, rejoicingly glorifies
God, even the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ. 2
By their glorious martyrdom, the confessors prevailed
over the devil who had invented the sufferings for
them ; 3 and therefore the evil one, the adversary of
mankind, is filled with envy and hatred when he sees
the martyrs crowned with the wreath of immortality. 4
Accordingly, in the opinion of the primitive
Christians, the martyrs were perfect Christians and
imitators of the Lord ; they prevailed not merely
over earthly rulers but over the devil who fought
against them ; they effaced all their sins by dying
for Christ, and attained unto God in perfect purity,
where they shared in the eternal glory in a special
degree ; they were the elect friends of Christ, were

1 Martyrium Polycarpi, 2 (ed. FUNK, Pair, apost. I., p. 284).

2 Ib. 19 (ed. cit. p. 304).

" Ib. 3 (ed. Cit. p. 286) : IToXXo. yap ffj.ijxoi.vaTo /car avruv 6
oicfySoXos. AXXot x&pis TW Oety /card iravTW yap OVK fcrvuej . Cf.
Justinus, Apol. I.. 57.

4 Ib. 17 (ed. cit., p. 300).

26 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

numbered among the apostles and the just ; they
scarcely ranked any longer as men but as angels.
By their martyrdom they obtained the greatest merit
before God. That the martyrs obtained divine grace
for others by means of their sufferings is quite in
harmony with the conception of intercessory prayer
for others already dealt with in the first chapter.
This meaning underlies a passage in the letter of
St. Ignatius to the Ephesians, where he writes that
he offers himself as a sacrifice for the Church of
Ephesus. 1 In a similar strain he writes to Polycarp
that in all things he is a substitute for Polycarp he
and his bonds which Polycarp loved. 2

Owing to the great value placed upon martyrdom,
the martyrs were the object of the greatest reverence
from the faithful, both during their life and after
their death. Their memory was cherished by the
community to which they had belonged, and even
spread beyond its limits ; as glorious and crowned
conquerors over the enemies of salvation, they lived
in the remembrance of the faithful. 3 This is clear
from the manner in which they are spoken of in
the passages referred to above. Christians regarded
it as a great honour and joy to gain admittance to
the confessors in prison and to act as an escort to

1 IGNATIUS, ad Ephes. viii. (ed. LIGHTFOOT II. p. 50) :
/cat ayvifo/j.ai vfj,u&gt;v E0e&lt;rtcoi e/c/cA^cn as T^S diafioifjTov rots

2 IGN. ad Polyc. II. 3 (ed. FUNK, Pair, apol I. p. 248) :
Kara, irdvra. &lt;ros avrl\^vx,ov ey& /cat ra decr/md //tov, & rjydTrrjaas. For
6.i&gt;Tl\f/vxos, cf. Lightfoot s note to Ephes. xxi., Apostolic Fathers,
Part II., ii. p. 87.

3 Cf. Martyr. Poly carpi, II.

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 27

them. 1 They were held up to the imitation of
Christians as examples of virtue, as when St. Poly-
carp exhorts the Christians of Philippi to yield
obedience to the word of justice, and to exercise all
patience as they have seen set before their eyes, not
only in the case of the blessed Ignatius and Zosimus
and Eufus, but also in others among themselves, and
in Paul himself, and the rest of the apostles. 2 Above
all, martyrdom was naturally a stimulating example
to other Christians when they found themselves
called upon to choose between death and rejection
of Christianity, which nerved them to imitate un
hesitatingly the heroic example of the martyrs. 3 We
have a good illustration of primitive Christian ideas
on this point in what the Christians of Smyrna say
with regard to the reasons alleged in mockery for
the burning of Polycarp s body i.e., that they might
forsake the Crucified and worship Polycarp : " The
heathen and the Jews are ignorant of this, that it is
neither possible for us ever to forsake Christ, who
suffered for the salvation of such as shall be saved
throughout the whole world, nor to worship any
other. For Him indeed, as being the Son of God,
we adore ; but the martyrs we worthily love as
disciples and imitators of the Lord, on account of
their extraordinary veneration for their own Lord
and King." 4 These words admirably express the

1 POLYCARP, ad 1 hilipp. 1. i (ed. FUNK, I. p. 266).

2 /., ix. (ed. cit. p. 274)-

3 Martyrium Poly carpi, c. xix. (ed. FUNK, p. 304). CLE-
MENTIS, Ep. L ad Cor., vi. i.

4 Mart. Polyc. xvii. 3 (ed. cit. p. 302) : ToO-roy ^i/ yap (sell.

28 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

ideas current in the sub-apostolic period regarding
the value of martyrdom and the relation between
the martyrs and the faithful on earth.

The glorious memory which the martyrs left
behind them among the faithful led to this result,
that when the custom arose of solemnly commemorat
ing the departed members of the community on the
annual recurrence of the day of their death, the
"birthday," as it was called, of the more celebrated
martyrs was celebrated in a special manner, with
joyful remembrance of their glorious victory over
the enemies of salvation and of the Church. The
earliest mention of this custom is to be found in the
account of St. Poly carp s martyrdom. In the same
connection, the Christians of Smyrna attach the
highest value to the bodily remains of the martyr.
After the burning of his body, the Christians suc
ceeded in obtaining possession of some parts which
had not been consumed, " to them more valuable
than precious stones and more purified thrin gold,"
and buried them in a suitable place. They then
expressed the hope that the Lord will permit them
to assemble there with joy and gladness, as far as
may be, to celebrate the birthday of his martyrdom,
both in memory of those who have already fought
the good fight and in preparation of those about to
enter into the strife. 1 From this quotation it is clear

rbv XpiffTdv) vlbv 6vra rou 6eov TrpoaKwovfj-ev rovs 5 ftdpTvpas w

/cat [JUfjiriTas TOV Kvpiov ayaTruJjAev d/ws ZveKO. euvoLas avvTrpf3\r)Tov TTJS els

rbv tdtov jSacriX^a Kal dida.Ka\ov.

1 Mart. Polyc. xviii. 2-3 (ed. FUNK, p. 302) : Otfrws re
verepov avf\bfJL^voi rd rt/uwrepa \ldwv TroXvreXwv /cat doKi/J-wrepa

IN THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 29

that it was not the memory of Polycarp alone which
was celebrated in this special manner, but the com
memoration included the memorial of the other
martyrs as well. The passage is introduced in such
a way as tn show plainly that it \vas no new tiling
hitherto unknown in Christian communities to which
the Smyrnaeans alluded. The practice was already
observed in Smyrna, and certainly elsewhere, during
the lifetime of St. Polycarp, the disciple of the
apostles and " the illustrious teacher " of the
Christians. 1 It had its grounds in views which
were widespread among Christian communities, and
owed their origin to the activity of those who were
the disciples of the apostles and taught according to
their spirit. It is, moreover, highly probable that a
commemoration of this kind was not restricted to
the memory of the martyrs, for we find Tertullian
bearing witness a few decades later to the practice of
holding a special commemoration for the faithful
departed on the day of their death. In all proba
bility this was also the case in Asia Minor in the
time of Polycarp. The festival of the " dies natalis "
of the martyrs was originally the same as those held
in memory of the other departed ; in two respects

Xpvcriov (XTTO, avrou aired/u.f6a, OTTOV Kal dKO\ovdov %!&gt;. "Ytvda ws dvvarbv
ijfjuv ffwayofAevois, ev ayaXXidffet. Kal x a P$ *ttp^(- 6 Kijpios ^TrireXetv TTJV
TOV fjiaprvpiov avrov yfjitpav yev6\iov, els re TT]V T&V jrpo rjdX rjKOTCiiv
^vr\^f]v Kal TUV fj.e\\6vTcov aaKtiffiv re /ecu eroi/J-acriav. With Funk, I
see no grounds for doubting the authenticity of this passage.
The expressions used correspond perfectly with the view of
the primitive Christians respecting the honour paid to Christian
martyrdom, which we have described above.
1 /#. xix. (ed. cit. p. 302-304).

30 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

alone did a special signification attach to it. First,
it was observed by a larger, if not universal, attend
ance of the members of the community, who were
probably joined by members of the neighbouring
communities. Secondly, the festival was character
ised by the "joy and gladness" with which it was
observed by the faithful in commemoration of the
heroic warriors whose memory they cherished as
perfect imitators and disciples of the Lord. The
prayers offered up, the passages read, and the
exhortations of the presiding ecclesiastic, all doubt
less bore upon this point, with the result that the
liturgical celebration still further promoted reverence
for the martyrs and helped to impress their importance
upon the people.

We have now before us all the scattered notices
which help us to form for ourselves an idea of the
way in which the martyrs were honoured in the
earliest Christian ages. We find no evidence for the
direct invocation of the martyrs in the literature
belonging to this period. It is only in the literary
remains of the following period that invocation
appears. Still the earliest form of invocation, which
regards the apostles and martyrs as the protectors
and patrons of the faithful with Christ the Lord and
Judge, has its roots in ideas prevalent in the earliest
Christian times.

3. Along with the apostles and martyrs the saints
and prophets of the Old Testament were considered
by the primitive Christians to occupy a special place
among the members of the Kingdom of God. It
was owing to the union between God s revelation in

IN THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 31

the Old Covenant and Christ the Messias that they
ranked as just and perfect and as " saints " in the
later sense of the word. Accordingly, in writings of
the sub-apostolic period, they are held up before the
faithful as examples of virtue which they ought
especially to copy. It is well known how Clement
in his letter to the Corinthians usually quotes the
example of the saints of the Old Covenant in order
to impress upon his readers the duty of putting into
practice the virtues they exhibited in their lives. 1
But other primitive teachers refer also to the saints
of the Old Testament in various connections. So
Ignatius, writing to the Magnesians, says the divinely
illuminated prophets lived according to Jesus Christ,
and for this cause also they were persecuted, being
inspired by His grace. 2 He also exhorts the Phila-
delphians to love the prophets, for they too pointed
to the gospel in their preaching, set their hope on
Christ and awaited Him ; they were also redeemed
by faith in Him, and in union with Him are worthy
of all love and admiration as saints, having obtained
the approval of Jesus and being numbered together
in the gospel of one common hope. 3 The prophets
in virtue of their mission as teachers, a mission con
firmed by Christ Himself, have an authoritative posi
tion in God s kingdom which rendered them personally

1 CLEM. I. ad Cor. ix. (Henoch and Noe as examples of faith
and obedience) ; x. (Abraham, example of obedience) ; xi. (Lot,
example of hospitality and piety) ; xii. (Rahab, example of the
same virtues), &c.

2 IGNAT. ad Magnes. viii.

3 IGNAT. ad Philad. v.

32 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

objects of reverence to the faithful ; they are elect
witnesses for Christ and His gospel. Accordingly
St. Justin speaks of them as blessed and just and
beloved of God. 1 We have seen already how the
apostles, according to Hermas (Simil. ix. 16), preached
to those who were asleep, enabling them to receive
the seal which entitled them to a place as stones
in the building of the tower. This idea naturally
admitted the Old Testament saints and prophets
directly into the divine kingdom established by Christ ;
they became Christ s disciples in the strict sense of
the word.

The faithful still living on earth felt that they were
united with these great saints and holy personages in
bonds of inner spiritual communion. All belonged
to one and the same Body of Christ ; all were fellow-
members of the one kingdom of God. The prophets,
the apostles and the martyrs ranked, indeed, as the
chief and foremost members of the Lord s mystical
Body the prophets and apostles, because in a strik
ing manner they had their part in the foundation of
that kingdom ; the martyrs, among whom were also
the apostles, because they were perfect followers of
the Lord. All were examples for the faithful to
imitate in their lives.

1 JUSTINUS, Dial, cum Tryphone, vii. : yua/ctipioi /ecu dt /ccuoi /ca

IN THE ANCIENT CHUKCH. 33

CHAPTER III.

THE ANGELS AS GUARDIANS OF THE FAITHFUL.

THE existence of good and evil angels the former,
God s instruments in the governance of the world and
in the execution of His decrees ; the latter, the
enemies of God and His kingdom is clearly taught
by our Lord and by the writings of the apostles.
The mere acceptance of the existence of the world of
spirits, and of the active share taken by the angels
in the ordering of the world did not, however, long
suffice, and soon men began to indulge in speculations
on all that concerned the spirit-world. Even St.
Ignatius refers to the subject when writing to the
Trallians, while at the same time pointing out the
difficulty of gaining a clear conception of these things.
Am I not able, he says, to write to you of heavenly
things ? Certainly, but I fear lest I should cause you
harm being babes, for you might not be able to take
them in. For even I, because I am in bonds, am
not able to understand heavenly things and the arrays
of the angels, and the princely orders, things visible
and things invisible. 1 However, all teachers of the
second century were not equally reticent in this
regard, for not only in Gnostic circles but even among
orthodox writers of the period we find considerable
attention given to speculations concerning the angels.

1 IGNATIUS, ad Trail, v.
C

34 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

(Moreover the apocalyptic literature and the book of
Henoch with their representations of the spirit-world
must have excited the Christian imagination con
cerning the influence of angels and demons in the
ordering of the world and of mankind, and in this
way these writings must have given rise to a special
feeling of veneration for the angels founded upon the
words of our Lord and the teaching of the apostles/
We cannot here refer to all the passages bearing upon
the doctrine concerning the angels, and for the pur
pose we have in view it is sufficient to examine the
conception current in primitive times concerning the
relation of the blessed spirits to the faithful.
f Although, according to a view held by St. Ignatius
and frequently appearing at a later date, 1 the good
angels do not yet definitely share in the blessedness
of heaven and may still be liable to the divine judg
ment, nevertheless those blessed spirits who have
remained God s faithful servants have a special place
in the heavenly kingdom and enjoy supernatural
blessedness by the throne of God. By nature they
are superior to men, and so the Christians of Smyrna,
speaking of the martyrs of their Church, remark that
the heavenly glory was revealed by the Lord to them
in their sufferings, " because they were no longer men
but had already become angels." 2 Hennas assigns
to the bishops, who never failed to protect the widows
and the needy, and always maintained a holy con-

1 IGNATIUS ad Symrn. vi. I : Models TrXavacrdu- /ecu rd
/ecu TJ 5oa rwv ayyt\uv Kal ol apXovres oparoi re Kal ddparot, eav /J.TJ

eis rb alfjia XpurroO, KCtKeivos Kpicris tffrtv,
Martyr! um Polycarpi, II.

IN THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 35

versation, a place among the angels, if they remained
to the end serving God. 1

^Notwithstanding, all the angels are not directly
employed in the service of God in heaven. A
number of them are placed over the different classes
of created things to protect and control them. Justin
usually teaches that God having created the universe
entrusted mankind and all things under heaven to the
care of the angels whom He placed over them. 2 The
angels proved false to some of the posts entrusted to
them, were guilty of unchastity and so begat the
demons. \ Athenagoras also speaks of the hosts of
angels and servants of God whom the Creator has
appointed through the Word to control the elements,
the heavens, and the world. 3 God, indeed, still reserves
to Himself the general superintendence of the universe,
but controls each separate object by the ministry of
angels. 4 This being so, God employs the angels to
bring about the accomplishment of His designs re
garding the members of His kingdom still on earth.
Hermas is especially clear on this point. In the fifth

1 PASTOR, Similitude ix. 27. Cf. Vision II. 2 (ed. FUNK I. p.
34) Eifj,/j,eivar odv ol pya6fji.evoi TTJV 8iKaio&lt;rvvr]v /cat ^77 Sti/a/x ^err/re,
tVa yfvrjTcu v/j.wv 77 irdpodos /J.erd r&v dyyf\W TWV dyiuv.

2 JUSTINUS, Apologia II. 5 (ed. OTTO, I., i. pp. 208-210) :
debs rbv iravra Koa/mov TrotTjtras /cat ra tiriycia avdpuirot.? vword^as /cat
TO. ovpdvia crrotxeta els atit]&lt;nv xapiruv /cat upwv /zera/3o\as Koa/uL^as Kal
6elov TOVTOIS VG/J.OV rday, a /cat aura 5t dvdpuirovs 0atVerat TreT

Tr]v fitv TWV dvdpwTruv Kal TUV virb jbv ovpavbv irpbvoi.o.v dyyeXots, ouj

3 ATHENAGORAS, Supplicatio pro Christianis, x. (ed. OTTO,
p. 48).

4 Ibid, xxiv (ed. cit. p. 121; et seqqr.}. Cf, the Eftstola ad
Diognctum, vii.

36 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

Similitude he explains that the stakes surrounding
God s vineyard are the holy angels of the Lord, who
keep His people together. 1 He speaks of one class
of stones used in building the tower described in the
third Vision as being those who are young in faith
and the faithful : they are admonished by the angels
to do good, for no iniquity has been found in them. 2
Hermas expressly teaches that each man has two
angels, one good and one evil, and it is then briefly
shown how the one is to be distinguished from the
other, and the warning ends with an exhortation to
trust in the good angel and withdraw oneself from
the bad angel, because his instruction is bad in every
deed. 3 ) This doctrine as far as it concerns the presence
of a good angel, or guardian angel, attending on each
believer, or even on every man, was quite in harmony
with Holy Scripture, and we shall often find it referred
to later on. The view that a special evil angel, the
adversary of the guardian angel, seeks to entice men
to sin, is not so common among the teachers of a later
age : the most of them speak only of the evil in general
which men have to encounter from the evil angels and
demons. Once grant that God fulfils his purposes
for the salvation of individual believers, and controls
the universe through the ministry of angels, and it

1 Pastor, Similitude v. 5 (ed. FUNK, P. ap. I. p. 460).

2 Ibid. Visio III. 5 (ed. cit. p. 362) : 01 5t aybftevoi Kal TiO^evoi
eis TT)V olKo8ofj,T)v rlvcs el&lt;riv ; NVoi turlv ev rrj irlffTei /cat wio-rot. Nou-
Oerovvrai d VTTO TUJ&gt; ayytXwv et s TO dyadoTroiciv, dlori oi&gt;x evptOij tv
avrois Trovrjpla.

3 Ibid. Mandatum vi. 2 (ed. cit. p. 406) : AKOVC vvv, Qyvi, irepl
rrjs Tr/crrews. Auo clffiv &yye\ot uera rov avdpibiroi . efs TT/S diKaiocrvvrjs
Kal etj TTJS

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 37

is natural to interpret literally the passage in the
Apocalypse about the " angels of the churches " (chap
II.), and to allot to each Christian community a
special guardian angel. There can scarcely be any
doubt that in the sub-apostolic period the passage
was understood in this sense, although it was only at
a later date that Origen definitely held it as part of
his teaching. From this intermediate position of the
angels between God and men, the practice soon
followed of venerating the good angels, and probably
of directly invoking them and praying to them.
/ We have seen that during this period the martyrs
and apostles, as far as we can learn from con
temporary writings, were not invoked ; they were
perfect servants of Christ, and examples for the
faithful, but it is only in the succeeding period that
they appear as mediators between God or Christ and
the faithful. However, the good angels, at least in
some districts, seem to have been the object of special
veneration as beings of a higher order, even in the
period immediately after the apostles. The evidence
of St. Justin on this point is too definite and far
reaching for us to see in it anything else than the
general practice of large numbers of the faithful. In
repelling the reproach of atheism from the Christians,
he states that while they certainly do not believe in
the deities of the popular religion, they worship and
adore both the true God and the Son, Who came forth
from Him and taught the faithful these things, and
the host of the other good angels who follow and are
made like to Him, and the prophetic Spirit, in reason
and truth, and declaring without grudging to every

38 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

one who wishes to learn. 1 Without dwelling upon
the difficulties raised by this passage with regard to
speculations on the Trinity, we may deduct from it
that the good angels were venerated among Christians
as beings of a higher superhuman order. At the
same time, perhaps, we may see in the position given
to the angels between God and created beings the
earliest indication of the idea which seeks for mediators
between God and the faithful on earth, responsible to
Him for individual Christians and especially occupied
with their salvation. If this is so, then the view that
the angels, as patrons and protectors of Christians,
are to be especially venerated in order the better to
ensure salvation is one which can be traced back very
early in the sub-apostolic period.

1 JUSTINUS, Apol I, 6 (ed. OTTO, I., i. p. 20) : . . . dXX

eKelvbv re (scil. aXrideaTaTOV 6eov\ /cat rbv Trap avrov vlbv e\Qbvra /cat
dLdd^avra r/^as raOra, /cat rbv ruv &\\i&gt;)v eTrofjievuv /cat &ofUHOVfA4wv
dyaduv dyyeXwv crrparbv, 7rvev/j,a re TO 7rpO(f)7jTLKbv (Tefio/mcda Kal
irpoffKvvoviJiev, \Lytg /cat aXrjdeia rt/uDpres /cat iravrl ^ov\o^vi&gt;3 fAadeiv, ws
eSiSax/fy/xe* , d&lt;p86vus 7rapa5t56vres. For explanation of the diffi
culties of the passage see Otto s notes, loc. tit.

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 39

CHAPTER IV.

PRAYERS FOR THE DEAD.

PRAYERS for the dead are not expressly mentioned
among those intercessions spoken of at the beginning
of this section, which Christians offered up for one
another. The nature of the early writings from which
we learn that living Christians prayed for one another
is such as to afford no occasion for alluding to the
departed. The case is very different with regard to
the earliest inscriptions belonging to the first half of
the second century in several of the Roman catacombs,
especially in the cemetery of Priscilla : in them
prayers for the dead have a prominent place.

Before describing these monuments, we must
mention a passage/ in the Dialogue with Trypho
where Justin speaks of the prayers which the faithful
repeat at the moment of death that no evil demon
may seize upon the soul. From the manner in
which Justin refers to the prayer, it is evident that
it was not the man at the point of death alone who
prayed, but the brethren present united their prayers
with those of the dying man. St. Justin mentions
the words in Psalm xxi. 21, 22 as forming part of
this prayer recited at the hour of death with the
object of securing the soul from the attacks of evil
spirits. 1 "YAnother prayer of the same kind was that

1 JUSTINUS, Dial, cum Tryphone, 105 (ed. OTTO, i, 2, p. 376) :

40 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

of our Lord on the Cross. " Father, into Thy hands
I commend my spirit," in which St. Justin sees an
encouragement to the departing soul to pray for
deliverance from all powers of evil. 1 " It is quite in
keeping with the ideas of the earliest Christian period
to think that the rest of the faithful prayed for the
dying man at the same time, and after death com
mended the departed soul to the divine grace that
God, " who is able to drive away every evil angel
who may assault the soul," might put forth His
power under these circumstances on behalf of the
soul of the departed. As we read the salutation
" Pax tecum " in the oldest epitaph in the cemetery of
Priscilla, we can scarcely doubt that this pious wish
was addressed by the faithful to the departing or
departed soul, and was of the nature of a prayer. 2

Kctt TO cbro pOjU0atas /cat crT&lt;5//,aros Xeo^ros /cat ^/c %etpos KVVOS a.ire iv avrbv
rrjv \l/vxyv crw^i/ai, tW /Arjdels Kvpievay TTJS ^i&gt;%?}s avrov atrT/crts r/v IVa,
T/vt /ca r?yue?s Trpos rf] eo"5w TOV /3iov yiv6/j,6da, ra avra atTw/nev rov 6eov rbv
dvvd/J.evoi&gt; dirocrTptya.!. Trdvra dvcudij Trovr/pov dyye\ov [Ay XajS^aOat. r}p.S)v
rrjs \j/vxr)s.

1 Ibid. (ed. dt. p. 378) : "06ev /cat 6 Qebs StMa/ca ^as /cat dia TOV
viov avrov TO TTO.VTUS ayuvi^effdai diKaiovs ytveadai, /cat Trpos TTJ ^6d^
alTelv /J,T] inrb TOiavTi]v Tiva dvva^iv v /roTrccre iv ras ^u%ds ri^dov. Kat yap
dirodidovs TO Trvev^o, tirl rw crrau/jy elTTf Hare/), ets %etpds crov 7ra/)art ^e/x,at
TO Trvev[j,d fjiov ! ws /cat ^/c TWV dTro^vq^oveviJLdTwv /cat TOVTO fjt,adov.

2 Cf. KiRSCH, Die Acclamationen und Gebete der altchrist-
lichen Grabschriften (Vereinsschrift der Gorresgesellschaft),
Cologne 1897. These addresses (Acclamationen) seem to me
to have originated by the first Christians using the ordinary
apostolic greeting, "Pax tecum: Paxtibi"on the epitaphs of
the departed instead of "Vale," as words of farewell The use
of these addresses on epitaphs is still better explained if this
greeting was addressed to the soul at its departure, as we have
suggested above. St. Ambrose shows that this was the case
in the fourth century (jp-excessu fratris sui Satyri, I. 78, Migne,

IK THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 41

CThe most important, as well as the earliest evidence
for the practice of praying for the souls of the
departed after death, i.e., addressing actual inter
cessions to God on their behalf, is found in the four
last lines of an epitaph from the catacomb of St.
Priscilla,~}which is preserved to us in two copies.
That it belongs to about the very time when St.
Justin lived and taught in Rome is proved beyond
doubt by De Rossi s chronological investigations on
the earliest monuments belonging to this catacomb,
and by Wilpert s disquisition on the date of the
paintings of the so-called " Capella Greca " in the
same catacomb. 1 According to the text of the
epitaph of Agape, the four lines run as follows :

Vos precor, o fratres, orare hue quando veni(tis)
Et precibus tolls patrem natumque rogatis,
Sit vestrae mentis Agapes caiae 2 meminisse
Ut Deus omnipotens Agapen 3 in saecula servet.

Lit is plain from this important piece of evidence
that about the middle of the second century the

P.L. xvi.) : Sed quid ego te morer frater? . . . Nihil,
inquam, moror, procedamus ad tumulum. Sed priiis ultimum
coram populo vale d\co,flacem pr&lt;zdico, osculum solve. 3 The
practice of addressing the departed with " Pax tecum " as well
as " Vale " was certainly observed by the Christians from the
beginning, and can be traced back well into the sub-apostolic
period as the "acclamations" show.

1 DE Rossi, Bulletlino di arched, crist., 1884-85, p. 71-76;
1886, p. 49-51 ; Inscriptiones Christiana: urbis Ronue, II. pars
i, p. xxx. WlLPERT, Fractio pant s, p. 59-60. Cf. KiRSCH.
Die Acclamationen, p. 50 et seq.

2 In the other copy, the epitaph of Marcia, instead of " Agapes
carae " we have " sancUe anirrue."

:! The other copy has the name " Marcia."

42 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

faithful of Rome were in the habit of reciting prayers
in the cemeteries both publicly, in the course of the
various liturgical assemblies of which we shall speak
later, and privately, and made mention of the departed
in these .prayers that God would preserve their souls
for ever/. In this we find the perfect counterpart of
the intercessions of the living for one another, and
since the Christians felt certain their prayers really
benefited those for whom they prayed and obtained
God s assistance for them, so too, in their intercessions
for the dead, the believers of the early Christian ages
never doubted that their prayers for the departed souls
were of use to them. We have nothing to show us
what conceptions they had formed of the condition
of these souls beyond the statement of Justin that
the evil spirits gathered round the soul at the hour
of death to seize upon it. However, although we
have nothing more than this to show us how the
primitive Christians thought their intercessions could
avail for the dead, nevertheless there can be no doubt
as to the fact that in the middle of the second
century they did pray for them even for a considerable
time after their death. I It is consequently a practice
which can be traced far back into the sub-apostolic
periody

This is still further substantiated by some epitaphs
belonging to the earliest class of inscriptions in the
cemetery of Priscilla, containing brief prayers referring
to the dead, which can only be understood as actual
intercessions for their souls. Such is the conclusion
of the epitaph of a certain Rhodin containing the
angelic salutation to the Mother of God (St. Luke i.

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 43

28) : O Kvpios /mera crov. 1 Another example is the
unfortunately fragmentary formula which De Rossi
completes ; spiri(tus tuus) requiscat (in deo). . . . 2
From the end of the second century these formulae of
prayer became more common, and new ones were
added to them. In itself this development in Christian
practice points to the conclusion that the underlying
belief has its origins in the sub-apostolic period.

How widespread the conviction was that the dead
can be helped by the prayers of living " saints " appears
from a passage in the very ancient Acta Fault et
Theclce. They relate how Thecla was received into
her house by a certain Tryphaina whose daughter
Falcon ilia was dead. She appeared to her mother
in a dream and besought her to adopt Thecla as a
daughter in her stead in order that by her prayers she
(Falconilla) might attain to the happiness of the just.
Upon Tryphaina s request Thecla begged of God
that He might grant eternal life to Falconilla accord
ing to her request 3 The whole narrative assumes the
belief that in some way or other the departed could
be assisted by the intercessions of the faithful still
living on earth, and that the prayers of those who had
suffered for the faith possessed a special power with
God.

Scanty though the evidence is, it is still abundantly
clear that in the middle of the second century prayers

1 DE ROSSI, BuUettino di arch, crist. 1892, p. 91 et seq.

* Ibid. 1886, p. 58, n. 50

3 Acta Pauli et Thecla, 28-29 (ed. LIPSIUS, I. p. 225, et set/.) :
Thecla s prayer is as follows : o 0tos /j.ov, 6 vlos TOV v\f/i&lt;rTov 6 4i&gt; T$
ovpaixl), 36$ avri) Kara rb 0^\-&gt;i/j,a cu r^s, iW ij dvya.r^p CU TJ/S &lt;ka.\Kovi\\a,
rovs

44 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS.

for the souls of deceased believers were no unknown
thing in the Christian communities. We find, more
over, from the end of the second century, evidence of
the existence of religious practices in particular
districts which presuppose a long tradition in support
of praying for departed Christians. For certain other
practices, such as the invocation of the martyrs on
behalf of the dead, or prayers addressed to the departed
to obtain their intercession on behalf of the living,
which became common among Christians in the
course of the third century, there is no evidence in
this period. They seem to belong to a further stage
in the development of the doctrine of the Communion
of Saints.

PART II.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE DOCTRINE OF THE
COMMUNION OF SAINTS UNTIL THE BEGINNING
OF THE FOURTH CENTURY.

IN the period between the end of the second century
to the beginning of the fourth, the doctrine of the
Communion of Saints underwent a twofold develop
ment. On the one hand, we find more ample views
relating to the connection between the faithful on
earth and their departed brethren, and, as a con
sequence of this, new practices affecting the Christian
life, especially increasing veneration and invocation
of the martyrs ; on the other hand, certain doctrinal
points belonging to the subject are found here and
there in the speculations of Christian teachers, without
the question being seriously dealt with ex professo.
The progress of the development is very uniform ;
the writings and monuments belonging to the
different parts of the Roman empire all bear witness
to one and the same belief throughout the Christian
communities. It is within this period, too, that the
doctrine as a whole arrived, in a certain sense, at a
full stage of development, all essential points being
dealt with during the period, while subsequent ages
added scarcely anything of importance. This period
is, therefore, of the greatest importance in the history
of the development of the doctrine of the Communion
of Saints,

46 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

CHAPTER I.

THE MYSTICAL UNION OF THE FAITHFUL ON
EARTH TO ONE ANOTHER.

THE belief that the faithful on earth, as fellow-
members of the kingdom of God and members of the
body of Christ, are united in bonds of deepest spiritual
fellowship, finds the clearest expression in many
passages of the writers of the period. It will be
sufficient to quote here merely a few of the most
important witnesses who throw light on this point.
Tertullian in his De Pcenitentia endeavours to assure
those who were ashamed to acknowledge their sins
before the faithful, and, with this aim in view, lays stress
on the fact that, in the Church, Christians have all
things in common, and that the spiritual diseases
of some infect the whole body. Nay, more, he sees
in the believer, whose knees the notorious sinner
embraces with tears, [an image of] Christ Himself,
because the^ Church, the communion of all believers,
is Christ. 1 Origen expresses himself in the same

1 TERTULLIAN, De panitentia, x. (ed. Oehler, torn. I. p. 661) :
Plerosque tamen hoc opus, ut publicationem sui, aut suffugere
aut de die in diem differre. Prassume, pudoris magis memores
quam salutis ; velut illi qui in partibus verecundioribus corporis
contracta vexatione conscientiam medentium vitant et itacum
erubescentia sua pereunt. Intolerandum scilicet pudori domino
offenso satisfacere, saluti prodactae reformari . . . Certe
periculum ejus tune, si forte, onerosum est, cum penes insul-

IN THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 47

way, when he draws the conclusion from the intimate
union of believers with the body of Christ in the
Church, that the believer who has stained his own
soul with sin has wronged the whole Church. 1

In virtue of this inner communion, each believer
naturally participates in the spiritual weal and woe
of the others, and this participation finds its chief
outward expression in various kinds of intercessory
prayer. We need not refer again to those common
liturgical intercessions of which we have spoken in
the first part, and which formed a permanent part of
the Euchanstic celebration. Tertullian sees the duty
of praying for others expressly enjoined in the petition
of the Lord s prayer "Hallowed be Thy Name"

tatores in risiloquio consistit, ubi de alterius ruina alter attollitur,
ubi prostrate superscenclitur : ceterum inter fratres atque con-
servos, ubi communis spes, metus, gaudium, dolor, passio, quia
communis spiritus de communi domino et patre, quid tu hos
aliud quam te opinaris ? Quid consortes casuum tuorum ut
plausores fugis ? Non potest corpus de unius membri vexatione
laetum agere ; condoleat universum et ad remedium conlaboret
necesse est. In uno et altero ecclesia est, ecclesia vero Christus.
Ergo cum te ad fratrum genua protendis, Christum contrectas,
Christum exoras. Aeque illi cum super te lacrimas agunt,
Christus patitur, Christus patrem deprecatur. Facile impetratur
semper quod filius postulat.

1 ORIGENES, in Jesu Nave, Horn. v. 6 (ed. Lommatzsch, xi.
p. 52) : Non licet mihi tollere membrum Christi, et facere
membrum meretricis. Die ei, quia templum Dei effectus sum,
non mihi licet immundum aliquid illuc inducere, nee fas est
mihi violare templum Dei. Sed et illud adde, quoniam "qui
fornicatur, in corpus suum peccat" : non in istud corpus solum,
quod templum Dei effectum est, sed et in illud, quod dicitur,
quia omnis ecclesia corpus Christi est : et in omnem ecclesiam
videtur delinquere, qui corpus suum maculaverit, quid per unum
membrum macula in omne corpus diffunditur.

48 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

it speaks of God s name being sanctified in all, even
in those who have not yet attained to the grace of
God, and so, by praying for all, the faithful con
tribute to bring about their conversion. 1 jThe same
writer especially exhorts penitents undergoing public
penance to implore the intercessions of the faithful,
that they may pray to God for them. 2 Mindfulness
of sinners and participation of spiritual benefits with
fellow-believers seems to Clement of Alexandria one
of the virtues of the perfect Christian gnostic. 3 His
disciple Origen expresses a similar idea in his alle
gorical description of various parts of the tabernacle
of the old covenant. 4 In treating of prayer, this great

1 TERTULLIAN, de oratioiie, cap. 1 1 1. (ed. Oehler, torn. I. p. 5 58) :
Alioquin quantum ad nostram petitionem, cum dicimus:
Sanctificetur nomen tuum, id petimus, ut sanctificetur in nobis,
qui in illo sumus. sirnul et in ceteris, quos adhuc gratia Dei
expectat, ut et huic praecepto pareamus, orando pro omnibus,
etiam pro inimicis nostris. Ideoque suspensa enuntiatione non
dicentes, Sanctificetur in nobis, in omnibus dicimus.

2 De pcenitentia, cap. ix. (ed. OEHLER, torn. I. p. 660) : Itaque
exomologesis prosternendi et humilifkandi horninis disciplina
est, conversationem injungens misericordiae illicem. De ipso
quoque habitu atque victu mandat sacco et cineri incubare,

presbyteris advolvi, et caris Dei adgeniculari, omnibus
fratribus legationes deprecationis suae injungere.

3 CLEMENS ALEX., Stromata, vii. 12, 80 (ed. Dindorf III. 321) :

OSroj 4i&gt; et yevo/mevos ev-jroi^TLKrj Oarrov TOV \tyew /caXws etiepyereT, ra
/aev rO)v d.5eA0tDj&gt; afj.aprrnj.aTa /mepicracrdai evx6fJ.evos ei s j;o/Ji.o\6yr}(riv Kal
eir KTT po(j)T)v TWV ffvyyevwv, KOt.vwve iv de T&V idtwv ayad&v 7rpo6v/j.oti{j.evos
rots ^iXrarots- avrol de ourws ai)ry ol &lt;t&gt;i\oi. avfav ovv ra Trap 1 avTy
KO.Ta.TL6t/uLeva (nrepfj.a.Ta, Kad ^v evTei\a.TO Ki ipios yewpytav avafj.dpT rjTos
/j.ev fj.e vei, tyKpaTfy de yiveTat Kal yuera TWV opotuv didyei. ry irvevfiari. iv
rols xopots TUV ayiuv, nav tiri yijs ZTI. Karexyrai . . .

4 ORIGENES, In Num. horn. v. 3 (MIGNE P. G. xii. 605) :
Intelligamus ergo tabernaculum testimonii omnes sanctos, qui

IN THE ANCIENT CHUKCH. 49

teacher comes to speak of intercession evrevgig in
particular. Following the passage in the first epistle
to Timothy (ii. i), he distinguishes four kinds of
prayer ; petition, praise, intercession, thanksgiving,
and describes intercession as a petition presented to
God on behalf of others by one having greater
boldness. 1 He then brings forth the solicitude of
the divine Spirit for the saints as an example of
intercession, and then Joshua, who made the sun
stand still, and Samson, who pulled down the house,
adding the remark that although it is not said that
Joshua and Samson offered up intercessions, but
only that they spoke, still what they said seems to
him to have been intercession, which is to be dis
tinguished from prayer. 2

It is plain that in this passage Origen takes evrevgi?
as meaning something different from our idea of
intercession. Intercession in the strict sense he
mentions in the same work, when dealing with the
question in what sense Christ may be said to pray.
At the beginning of prayer God is to be praised
through Christ, then follow thanksgivings, then

sub testamento Dei censentur ; et in hoc tabernaculo esse
quosdam celsiores meritis et gratia superiores. . . . Alii
sint altare incensi, quicunque orationibus et jejuniis die ac nocte
vacant in templo Dei, orantes non solum pro semetipsis, sed et
pro universe populo . . . Porro qui cum omnia fiducia per
hostias precum supplicationumque victimas Deum hominibus
repropitiant, et pro delictis populi interveniunt, propitiatoriurn
nominentur. . .
1 ORIGENES, Trcpt ei x^s, xiv. 2(ed. Koetschau, II. 331) : . . .

s debts.

Ibid. 5 (ed. dt. p. 332 ct seq.).
D

50 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

lamentation before God for each sin, and then " after
the acknowledgment of guilt, in the fourth place
petitions for great and heavenly things are to be
made, both in particular and in general, and for
relatives and friends " ; finally, the prayer is to
conclude with the praise of God through Christ in
the Holy Ghost (t .e., with a doxology). 1 The corres
pondence of St. Cyprian shows how deeply the whole
Christian spirit of the period was imbued with the
idea of intercession. The Roman clergy urgently
enjoins prayers for the lapsed that they may be
restored, and received back again into the Church in
the proper way ; for those who stand that they be
not tempted so as to fall. 2 The faithful confessors^
Moses, Maximus, and their companions, beseech
Cyprian to pray that the Lord may daily protect and
strengthen them more and more, so that they may
arrive at the glorious battlefield. 3 Cyprian himself

1 Ibid, xxxiii. I (ed. cit. p. 401) : . . . /tern Se r
rtraprov [AOL (rvvaTrreiv 0atVerat decv rr\v irepl r&v fj,eyd\(iov Kai
aiTTicriv, idiuv re /cat KadoXiK&v, Kai irepi re ot/cei wv /cat 0tArdrwi .

* Epistula xxx. inter Cypr. 6 (ed. HARTEL, II. p. 554):
Mutuis votis nos invicem foveamus, custodiamus, armemus.
Oremus pro lapsis ut erigantur, oremus pro stantibus ut non
ad ruinas usque temptentur. Oremus ut qui cecidisse referuntur
delicti sui magnitudinem agnoscentes intelligant non mom-
entaneam neque praeproperam desiderare medicinam ; oremus
ut effectus indulgentiae lapsorum subsequatur et poenitentiam,
ut intellect suo crimine velint nobis interim praestare patientiam,
nee adhuc fluctuantem turbent ecclesias statum, ne interiorem
nobis persecutionem ipsi incendisse videantur et accedat ad
criminum cumulum quod etiam inquieti fuerunt.

* Epistula xxxi. inter Cypr. 5 (ed. HARTEL II. p. 561): Et
si nondum nostrum sanguinem fudimus, sed fudisse parati
sumus, nemo hanc dilationis nostrae moram clementiam indicet,

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 51

besought his fellow bishops, priests, and deacons, and
all the faithful languishing in prison for the true
confession of their faith, to intercede that with them
he might fight the good fight, and that all they who
withstand the attacks of the heretics, being united by
the bond of peace, may rejoice together in the
heavenly kingdom. 1 The bishop of Carthage exhorts
his fellow bishop, Cornelius of Rome, in moving
terms that they constantly remember one another in
unity and concord, and pray for one another. 2

quae nobis ofFtcit, quae impedimentum glorire facit, que caelum
differt, quas gloriosum Dei conspectum inhibet. In hujusmodi
enim certamine et in hujusmodi ubi decertat fides prcelio
moram martyres non distulisse vera dementia est. Pete ergo,
Cypriane carissime, ut nos gratia sua Dominus magis ac magis
in dies singulos quosque uberius atque propensius et armet et
illustret, viribus potentiae firmet ac roboret, ut qua optimus
imperator milites suos, quos usque adhuc in castris carceris
exercuit et probavit, producat jam ad propositi certaminis
campum.

1 CYPRIANUS, Epistula Ixxvi. 7 (ed. H ARTEL II. p. 833):
Plane quia nunc vobis in precibus efficacior sermo est et ad
inpetrandum quod in pressuris petitur facilior oratio est, petite
inpensius et rogate ut confessionem omnium nostrum dignatio
divina consummet, ut de istis tenebris et laqueis mundi nos
quoque vobiscum integros et gloriosos Deus liberet, ut qui hie
caritatis et pacis vinculo copulati contra hasreticorum injurias et
pressuras gentilium simul stetimus pariter in regnis caslestibus
gaudeamus. Opto vos, beatissimi et fortissimi fratres, in
Domino bene valere et nostri semper et ubique meminisse.
Valete.

2 CYPR. ep. lx. 5 (ed. cit. p. 694) : Mem ores nostri invicem
simus, Concordes atque unanimes, utrubique pro nobis semper
oremus, pressuras et angustias mutua caritate relevemus. We
shall return to this passage later on because of what follows in
the letter. Cf. FUNK, Apost. Konstitutioncn, p. 30 (Didascalia).

52 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

These brief quotations, which show us the actual use
of intercessory prayer in the various parts of the
Church, may suffice to prove that the conception of
the inner fellowship existing among the faithful, which
we saw in the sub-apostolic period, held its ground,
and assumed an important position in the religious
thought and feeling of the Christians belonging to the
period we are now considering.

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 53

CHAPTER II.

THE RELATION OF THE FAITHFUL TO THE
DEPARTED.

IN order to obtain a complete conception of what
was believed as to the spiritual relation between the
faithful on earth and the souls of the just in the
other world, we must, first of all, try to give a
general idea both of the teaching of Christian writers
and of the practices of the Christian people with
regard to this subject ; secondly, we shall deal in a
separate chapter with the position of the martyrs in
the kingdom of God, according to the ideas of the
Christians of the period ; finally, we shall consider
prayers for the dead and the manner in which they
xajl benefit the departed.

We cannot better describe the union of all the
elect who have shared in Christ s redemption in the
one kingdom of God than by the words of Hippolytus
in his commentary on Daniel. 1 u What then is the
Church?" he asks ; " The holy assembly of those who
live in justice. For concord, which is the way of the
saints to fraternity, is the Church, the spiritual house
of God, founded on Christ in the east, in which all
kinds of trees spring up, the generation of the fathers
who have been set apart from the beginning, and the

1 HIPPOLYTUS, Commentary on Daniel, i. 17 (ed. BONWETSCH,
Die griech. christl. Schriftsteller, Hippolytus, i. p. 28 ct seg.}

54 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

works of the prophets perfected according to the law,
and the choir of the apostles made wise by the Word,
and the martyrs redeemed by Christ s blood, and the
vocation of virgins sanctified by water, the choir of
teachers and the ordering of bishops, priests and
Levites. All these flourish in the Church adorned
with all austerity, being unable to decay. Receiving
of their fruit, we obtain good understanding, as we eat
of the spiritual and heavenly food which grows in
them."

( The departed saints remain in union with God s
heavenly kingdom, and have their share in making
the faithful on earth partakers of the election. The
Church in heaven, according to Clement of Alexandria,
is the model for the Church on earth, which is a copy
of it. 1 Origen frequently speaks of the close spiritual
connection of the different parts of the Church to one
another ; indeed his writings furnish us with a fully
developed system of doctrine on this point. Owing
to his great influence on the development of theology,
his representation is all the more important. . The
faithful are in communion with the Holy Trinity ;
from this it follows that they are in inward spiritual
relationship not only with " the saints " on earth, but
with those who are in heaven. Origen, according to
his custom, brings forward some proofs from Scripture
from which he draws practical conclusions for the
moral life of the faithful. 2 For him, as for Hippolytus,

1 CLEMENS ALEX., Stromata, iv. 8, 66 (ed. DINDORF II., 354) :

EIKWV de rrjs ovpavlov ^/c/cX^crias 77 tTrtyeios, diotrep ei X&lt;5ju,e#a /ecu " ^Trt yijs
yevevdai TO OtXrjfAO. TOV 6eov us tv ovpavy. "

2 ORIGENES in Liviticum Horn. iv. 4 (ed. LOMMATZSCH, ix.

IN THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 55

the foundation of the Church dates from the beginning
of the world : the revelation of the Old Testament is
closely connected with the revelation in Christ, and
all the just who have lived from the beginning make
up the Church.M This view of the Alexandrian
teacher is closely connected with the great importance
we find he attached to the Old Testament revelation :
he regarded the prophets as saints in the fullest sense,
, from whose writings Christians may learn that, if they
jhave lived as the prophets lived, they will find rest
[and blessedness with them in the next world. 2

p. 221): Igitur si nobis cum Patre et Filio, et Spiritu sancto
societas data est, videndum nobis est, ne sanctam istarr
divinamque societatem peccando abnegemus. Si enim agamu
opera tenebrarum, certum est, quia societatem negavimus
lucis. Sed et sanctorum socios nos dicit Apostolus : nee
mirum. Si enim cum Patre et Filio dicitur nobis esse
societas, quomodo non et cum sanctis, non solum qui in
terra sunt, sed et qui in ccelis? Quia et Christus per san-
guinem suum pacificavit coelestia et terrestria, ut ccelestibus
terrena sociaret. Quod evidenter indicat, ubi dicit gaudium esse
in ccelis super uno peccatore pcenitentiam agente. Et rursum
cum dicit eos, qui resurgunt a mortuis, futures esse sicut angelos
Dei in ccelo,et cum ex integro hominibus ccelorumregna promittit.

1 ORIGENES, in Cantic. Cant. lib. II. in cap. i. ver. u, 12
(MiGNE P. G. xiii. 134): Prima etiam fundamenta congrega-
tionis Ecclesiae statim ab initio sunt posita, unde et apostolus
dicit aedificari Ecclesiam non solum super apostolorum funda-
mentum, sed etiam prophetarum. . . . Erat autem in
omnibus sanctis qui ab initio saeculi fuerunt facti. Diligens
igitur earn venit ad earn. . . . Ipsi enim erant Ecclesia
quam dilexit, ut earn vel numerositate augeret, vel virtutibus
excoleret, vel perfectionis charitate de terris transferret ad
ccelum. Ministraverunt ergo et prophetas ab initio, ministra-
verunt et angeli, &c.

2 ORIGENES in Jeremiam horn. \v. i (ed. LOMMATZSCH, xv.

56 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

The just, who have finished their course, are also
examples for the faithful after which they model their
own manner of life. If any of them, such as the
apostles, prophets, and some of their disciples, have
left behind them writings in which men may find
instruction concerning the life according to God s
laws, then they are all the more examples and guides
to the faithful. Thus the Saviour wills that His
disciples should be His fellow-workers in setting up
the perfect moral order on earth, i.e. t mankind is to
imitate the moral order which reigns in heaven, and
the just in the kingdom of heaven are to co-operate
with the Saviour by their prayers to the Father, and
as things in heaven are subject to the Truth and the
Word, so too things on earth, through the authority
over heaven and earth bestowed on Christ, are by
Him reduced to order and made to minister to the
happiness of those who obey Him. 1

The intimate connection between the Church on

p. 278) : 01 /maKapifovres rous Trpo^ras, /cat r^&gt; fj.aKaplfciv ai)roi S
evx6/j,evoi rrfv [tepida @X iV ^TO, r&v irpofirjr&v, cvvdyovres dirb r&v \6yuv
T&V Trpo&lt;p7)TLKU}v TO, ^dlpera rrjs Trpocpyrelas avr&v farovvres otV TreicrfeieV,
&v Kara, rd avrd /3tt6&lt;rwcrii&gt;. Et /cat crK\ripbv avrols diravr/iaerai v rw /3ty
roi/ry /it/xeicrflcu rbv (3iov rbv Trpo8riTu&lt;:6v 6 rt rei^ovrcu TTJS dvcnraticrcus Kal
rrjs yaa/captdr^ros yu,erd rwv irpocp qT&v,

1 ORIGENES, On Prayer, XXVI.4(ed. KOETSCHAU, II. p. 361):

EXWI yap ovffiav T&V ( 4v ovpavip" (frycri TrpocreiXr/fovai rrjv " dirl yrjs,"
TUV pi&gt; " iv ovpavtp" /ecu Trpdrepov VTTO rov \6yov Tre^diT^^vwv, tiri de
"Ty (TWTeXeLa rov di&vos " /cat r&v " eiri yqs " 5td r^v deSofj.evfjv e^ovariav
Tig vi TOV deov f.u[AOV/jiv(ji)v rd, &v e^ov&tav 6 aur-rjp \a(3ev ll v ovpavy "
. olovel odi&gt; did T&V cvx&v ffvvepyovs irpbs rbv irar^pa
Xafie iv TOUS ^ad^revo^vovs dury IV 6/uotws rots " v ovpavu"
^evoLs dXydeiq, /cat \6yy rd " tiri yrjs" diopQwdtvra 8id ryv
4%ov&lt;riav, T)V eXafiev " ws tv ovpavy /cat tnl 7^5," ^ts rAos dydyy r&v
v fj.aKapi.ov.

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 57

earth and the Church in heaven takes an almost
material form, if one may say sc$ according to Origen,
in that the departed souls attend the liturgical
re-unions along with the faithful. Since the apostle
Paul while still in his earthly body believed he could
work with his spirit in Corinth (i. Cor. v. 4), it may be
thought that in the same way the souls of the departed
come in spirit to the assemblies of the Church, and
perhaps even more speedily than those who are still in
the bod}^ From this Origen draws the further
conclusion that the prayers at these assemblies are not
to be despised since they contain something excellent
for those who assist at them worthily. 1

The just who have finished their course have the
greatest interest in the spiritual welfare of the faithful
on earth. Origen beautifully founds this on the view
which he holds that, just as the knowledge of heavenly
things in the other world is given through the face to
face vision of God, so, too, only there the virtues
practised in this life find their perfection. One of the
most excellent virtues is love of one s neighbour.
Accordingly, we must believe that the just, who are
already asleep, are filled with love for their brethren
who still strive after salvation, to a far higher degree
than those who are themselves still encompassed

1 On Prayer, xxxi. 5 (ed. KOETSCHAU, II. 399) : Ilept 5 r?}y
Si vd^teojs TOV Kvpiov av/j.Trapovcr7js rfj ^KKXijcria, 6 HctOXos &lt;/&gt;??&lt;rr "avvax6tvTWV
vfj.uv Kai TOV ^uou TTvev/maTos vvv ry 5vvd/j,i TOV Kvpiov lycrov," ws dvva.fj.ews
" TOV KvpLov I?7&lt;rou " &lt;rvva7TT6/j.evos ov (j.6vov yuerd E0e&lt;riwi dXXd /axi
. /cat el 6 CTL r6 (ra)/xa 7rept/ce//i6J/os IlaOXos (rvvdpacrdai. 9v6fWtt
eavTOv Tn&gt;evfj.a.Tt iv TV} Koptvdii), OVK diroyvaxTTtov OVTU Kai TOVS

Kapiovs QQaveLv r&lt;# irvev^aTL rd%a /j.dX\ov TOV
riis

58 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

with human frailty. It was not with reference solely
to love of the brethren on earth that it was
said ; " If one member suffer anything, all the
members suffer with it ; or if one member glory, all
the members rejoice with it"(i Cor. xii. 26). Thus
the other words of the apostle, " Who is weak, and I
am not weak ? " (2 Cor. xi. 29) can also be understood
of the love of those who have passed from this life.
This compassionate interest of the departed just is all
the easier understood since Christ Himself has said
that in every weak saint He Himself is weak also. 1
This interest found expression not only in the example
and teaching by which the saints enlighten Christian
people, but also much more by the prayers which they
offer for, and with, the faithful, that they may overcome
the enemy of salvation and gain the reward of victory. 2

1 On Prayer^ xi. 2 (ed. KOETSCHAU, II 322) : Kal yap aroirov,
T?)S 7 U&gt;cr^ws " di evbiTTpov" Kal " ev alviy^art." e?rt rou Tra/xWos rot s
dyiois &lt;pavepov/j.tvr)s " roYe 5&lt;; Trp6crw7rov irpbs irpbauirov " dTro/caXwrro/u^Tjs,
JJ.T] rb dvd\oyov Kal iri rwv \onr&v dpeT&v voelv, roYe Kvplus rdv
Trpoirapeo Kevao fJievuv ev T&lt; j8ty roury reXetoUyUefw^. /j,ia d /ci piwrdr?;
TUV aperuv Kara rbv 6elov \6yov tariv 17 irpbs rbv ir\if]fflov dyaTrr;- -ijv
TroXXw /taXXoi/ irpoae ivai TOIS TrpoKeKOi/j.rj^vois ayiois ?rp6y TOVS v /3i y
aywvifrofj^vovs avayKaiov voelv wapa TOVS ev ry dvdpwn-ivrj d&deveia
rvyxdvovras Kai o~vi&gt;ayuvio/Ji.i&gt;ovs rots viroSeecrTtpois, ov /j,6vov tvravda rod
tl &lt;. Trcur^et //.^Xos ev, &lt;rvfj.Trdcrx i irdvTa rd /ji^Xy /cat el 5odferai /JL^\OS v,
crvyxaipei Trdvra rd /ieX?/ " rots 0tXa6^X0ots eyyivo^vow irpeirov yap
(TTL Kal TTJ TLOv ^w Trjs Trapo^crTys fwTys dydiry \yttr " ri ^ptfjLva TracrtDv
TUV eKK\r](riGjv rts d&devei, Kal OVK dffQevCj ; rts &lt;r/cav5aXerat, Kal OVK
tyu TTVpovjuat. ; " /cai raOra rou Xpt&lt;rroi) dpoXoyovvTos Kad eKaarov ruv
affdevovvTWv dylwv avdevelv 6/iotws /cat tf v 01 Xa/c?; " ?tfat Kalyv/^vireveiv
j-ViTvet,v re /cat ireivav Kal 8i\l/av.

2 ORIGINES, in Num. horn. xxvi. 6 (MiGNE P. G. xii. 778 etseq.} :
Si qui autem in ipsis viri fortes erunt, relictis animalibus et
pecoribus et omnibus impedi mentis pugnant adve/sus hostem
nobiscum usquequo vincantur inimici nostri, usquequo hreredi-

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 59

Not only Christ our High-Priest prays with those who
beseech God in the right way, but the angels also and
the souls of the saints who are asleep. In proof of
the prayers of the angels, the words of the angel
Raphael to Tobias are quoted ; for the prayer of the
saints, Origeri appeals to the account in the
Machabees (2 Mach. xv. 13-15), where it is described
how Jeremias appeared, reached out his right hand
and gave Judas Machabeus a golden sword, and how
Onias bore witness to Jeremias ; " This is he that
prayeth much for the people and for all the holy city,
Jeremias the prophet of God." l In numerous passages
of his writings, Origen takes occasion to speak of these
intercessions of the saints at rest on behalf of the
faithful still striving on earth. In his commentary on
the Canticle of Canticles, he states that the phrase

tatem terrae bonae, terrae mellis lactisque capiamus. Quis enim
dubitat quod sancti quique patrum et orationibus nos juvent, et
gestorum suorum confirment atque hortentur exemplis, sed et
voluminibus suis, per ea quae nobis ad memoriam scripta
reliquerunt, docentes nos, et instruentes quomodo adversum
inimicas potestates dimicandum sit, et quornodo agonum
toleranda certamina ? Pugnant ergo pro nobis et ipsi, incedunt
primi ante nos armati.

1 ORIGENKS, On Prayer, xi. i (ed. KOETSCHAU, II. p. 321) :
Ou /j.6vos 8 6 dpxtepei s rot? yvrjaius ei/xo/J-tvois avvevxerai dXXd /cat ol
" v ovpav" x a tp VT s &yye\0i " dirl evl d/^aprwXy /jLeravoovvrt ^ eTri
vevf}KOVTa. tvvta 5t/caots, o i ov Kpelav %orcrt /neravoias," a i re ruv
TrpOKfKoi./j, t]/J.vuv aylwv \pv%al . . . /card rbv \6yov yovv roO Pa&lt;/&gt;a7jX
" dyadbv irpovevxT} ytterd vr/crretas /cat Ae^ocrwrys /cat 8 t/cato&lt;7 -uvr\ s "
IfpefJitov d, u&gt;s tv rots Ma/caj3at /cots tTri&lt;paivo/j.ti&gt;ov, " TroXta" /cat d6^r/ "
8ia&lt;j&gt;povTos, cus " 6avfj.acrTr)v rtj/a /cat /j.eyaXoTrpeTreo Ta.T rjv elvat TTJV irepi
avrbv vTTfpox^v, /cat wporelvovTOS " TTJV 8fiav" TrapadiddvTos re " T
lovdq, pofjicfialav xP var TJ v &gt;" t/J-aprvpei fiXXos d"7tos TrpoKeKO/j-Tj/Jitvois Xtyuv
ffriv 6 irpoffevxdfjievos TroXXd Trepi TOV Xaou /cat r^s d-yfas 7r&lt;5Xcwj,
6 TOV tfeov

60 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

" ordinate in me caritatem " (ii. 4) may be under
stood of the departed saints^ who assist us by
their prayers and mediation before God. 1 He has
also a characteristic allegorical interpretation of the
animals selected for sacrifice in the Old Testament.
He starts with saying the Lamb brought as a sin
offering represents Christ ; in the other sacrificial
animals he sees allegorical representations of men who,
through the merits of Christ s blood, have in any way
procured purification for mankind. By these he
means the martyrs, but one may also understand by
them the angels and heavenly powers, holy men, the
prophets and apostles, who earnestly beseech God
for mercy on the sins of menl 2 - The propitiatory
character before God of the intercessions of the just is
here clearly stated. Further, it is clear from Origen s

1 ORIG. in Cant. Cantic. III. (ed. LOMMATZSCH, 15, p. 25
et seg.} : Sed et omnes sancti qui de hac vita decesserunt,
habentes adhuc caritatem ergo eos qui in hoc mundo sunt, si
dicantur curam gerere salutis eorum et juvare eos precibus
suis atque interventu suo apud Deum, non erit inconveniens.
Scriptum namque est in Machaba2orum libris ita : Hie est
Hieremias propheta Dei, qui semper orat pro populo. Cf.
Comment, in Joan. xiii. 57 (ed. tit. 2 p. 120): &lt;baiverai de /meXetv
rois Trpo^e\7]\v66o i rbv fiiov rovrov ayiois Trepi rov XaoO, (is 4v rois
Ma/tajSaiffOiS yeypaTrrai /aerd 7rXe?crra 6 cra ZTT) rrjs IcpcfUov dpaXT^ew?
" ovr6s ecrnv lepe/u as 6 rov 6eov TrpofiriTys 6 TroXXd eux^e^os irepl rov
XaoO. "

2 ORIGENES, horn. 24 in Num. i (ed. LOMMATZSCH, 10, pp.
293-95) : Si c er " fortassis et si quis est angelorum ccelestiumque
virtutum, aut si quis justorum horninum vel etiam sanctorum
prophetarum atque apostolorum, qui enixius interveniat pro
peccatis hominum, hie pro repropitiatione divina velut aries
aut vitulus aut hircus oblatus esse sacrificium ob purificationem
populo impetrandam accipi polest.

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 61

commentary on St. Matthew that he understood this
not merely of the prayers of the just while alive, but
also of their intercessions after death, since he there
states in express terms that the apostles and other
saints are actually cognisant now of the wonderful
works of God on behalf of the human race, and not
merely were cognisant formerly, and that they present
their intercessions before the face of Christ, and call
upon Christ not to forsake mankind on account of their
sins. 1 Thus, according to Origen, the prayers of just
souls in heaven are able to propitiate God s justice and
move Him to be merciful towards sinful men. This
fact is important in estimating the intercessory char
acter of martyrdom and the allied conception of the
recommendations given by the martyrs to the lapsed,
that they should be received back again into the
communion of the Church. We shall deal with this
point in the following chapter. These points in
Origen s teaching are quite independent of his view
that the just, the apostles included, do not yet enjoy

1 ORIGENES, in Matthacum Commentariorum, series, 29, 30
(ed. LOMMATZSCH, 4, p. 245) : . . . Propterea dicunt ad
Jesum, sicut alter manifestius dicit Evangelista : " Magister,
vide quales lapides, et quales structures ! " Videlicet ut
flecterent eum ad misericordiam loci illius, ne faceret quod
facere fuerat comminatus 30. Et haec corporaliter dicta sint.
Moraliter autem hoc rnodo : cum sit humanas naturae admira-
bilis constructio facta, videlicet templum Dei et Verbi ejus,
discipuli caaterique sancti, non solum tune, sed etiam modo
miranda opera Dei erga figmentum humanum confitentes, ante
conspectum Christi intercedunt, et provocant Christum, ut ne
deserat genus humanum propter peccata ipsorum, sed magis
moveant eum ad indulgentiam opera ejus miranda, quam ad
iracundiam iniquitas eorutn.

62 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

the perfect bliss of heaven. Although, according to
his view, perfect blessedness only begins after the full
number of the elect has been made up, 1 this in no
wise prevents the souls of the just in the next world
from bestowing upon the faithful in this world the
assistance of their intercessions.

These views of the great Alexandrian teacher
harmonize with his teaching on the spirit world and
its place in God s whole plan of redemption. Every
creature yearns after redemption, and the just souls,
being already certain of their own election, unite their
longing with those who have not yet attained there
unto. Accordingly he explains the words of St. Paul
in Romans viii. 22-23 as referring to this assistance
which the just in the next world compassionately
bestow upon the faithful still striving on earth. 2 The

1 ORIGENES, in Lev. horn. vii. 2 (ed. LOMMATZSCH 9, p. 294) :
Nondum receperunt lastitiam suam ne apostoli quidem, sed et
ipsi exspectant, ut et ego lastitiae eorurn particeps fiam. Neque
enim decedentes hinc sancti continue Integra meritorum suorum
prsemia consequuntur, sed exspectant etiam nos, licet morantes,
licet desides. Non enim est illis perfecta Isetitia, donee pro
erroribus nostris dolent et lugent nostra peccata. Cf. the
account of Origen s eschatology in Atzberger, Christl. Eschato-
logie, pp. 402 et seqq.

2 ORIGENES, Comment, in Ep. ad Rom. lib. vii. 6 (MiGNE P.
G., xiv. 1118): "Similiter et Spiritus adjuvat infirmitatem
nostram," &c. (Rom. viii. 26) Cum in superioribus (Rom. viii.
22) dixisset, quia omnis creatura his qui in agone hujus vitae
sunt positi congemisceret et condoleret, hoc est collaboraret
viresque conferret, turn etiam seipsum Paulus (Rom. viii. 23) ac
sui similes proferre gemitus pro laborantibus memorasset, ut
per haec solaretur in certamine positos, cum viderent omnes
sanctos universamque creaturam affectu secum laborare gemi-
tusque conjungere, addit nunc excelsius quid et sublimius. Ne,

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 63

former thus actively share in the ministry of the good
angels, who in Origen s system of doctrine play so
important a part in the fulfilment of God s purposes
towards creation. Indeed, Origen reckons it among the
secrets not suited for all, that not only the souls of
the just assist, like the good angels, in all that furthers
man s salvation, but the wicked behave towards men
after death like the evil spirits, in whose company
they are punished in everlasting fire, according to
Christ s teaching. 1 Hence we see how the speculative
development of doctrine concerning the relation of
the dead to the living, as it appears in Origen, falls
in with his whole conception of the spirit world.

We must not, however, conclude from this that we
owe to Origen the foundation on which rests the

inquit, parvum putetis quod omnis nobiscum congemiscit et
condolet creatura ; ne parvum videatur quod nos ipsi gemimus
pro laborious vestris. Etiam divinas ipsi naturae erga agones
nostros (vobiscum enim me quoque conjungo) inest quidam
miserationis affectus.

1 ORIGENES, Comment, in epist. ad Rom. lib. ii. 4 (MiGNE
P. G. xiv. 878) : Requiritur sane a quibusdam cur dies hie, de
quo superius bibliothecas propheticas movimus, in fine mundi
statutus sit, ut omnes qui ab initio saeculi usque ad finem
ipsius defuncti sunt, ad hunc ultimutn diem judicandi reser-
ventur. Cujus rei interiores causas certum est secretioribus
mysteriis contegi. . . . Jam vero si etiam extra corpus
positi vel sancti, qui cum Christo sunt, agunt aliquid et laborant
pro nobis ad similitudinem angelorum, qui salutis nostras minis-
teria procurant ; vel rursum peccatores etiam ipsi extra corpus
positi agunt aliquid secundum propositum mentis suae, ad
angelorum nihilominus similitudinem sinistrorum, cum quibus
et in asternum ignem mittendi dicuntur a Christo, habeatur et
hoc quoque inter occulta Dei nee chartulas committenda
mysteria.

64 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

whole doctrine we are considering, i.e.^ the supposition
that the souls of the departed offer to God actual
and effective intercessions on behalf of the living.
We are rather dealing with a belief spread throughout
the whole Church, which we have already come across
in the sub-apostolic period, and which, in the period
now under discussion, attained to a fuller development.
Origen himself testifies that this is the case, for he
tells us that one of the old teachers had handed down
the doctrine that the departed saints aid in obtaining
salvation for the faithful. 1 Further light is thrown
upon the subject by the fact that among the reproaches
cast upon Christians by Celsus, we find he accuses
them of seeking the favour of other beings besides
God. This proves that the faithful in the time of
Celsus actually believed in the help given by angels
and holy souls in their struggle for salvation ; it was
only that the opponent of Christianity misunderstood

1 ORIGENES, horn. 16 in Josne, 5 (ed. LOMMATZSCH, ii. p.
150): Sed requiris qui sint isti qui pugnant et quas est ilia
pugna quam illi gerunt. Ego sic arbltror, quod omnes illi, qui
dormierunt ante nos patres, pugnent nobiscum et adjuvent nos
orationibus suis. Ita namque etiam quendam de senioribus
magistris audivi dicentem in eo loco, in quo scriptum est in
Numeris, quia "ablingent synagoga ilia" hanc synagogam,
sicut " ablingit vitulus herbam viridem in campo" (Num. xxii.
4). Dicebat ergo : quare hujusmodi similitude assumpta est,
nisi quia hoc est, quod intelligendum est in hoc loco, quod
synagoga Domini, quae nos praecessit in sanctis, ore et lingua
consumit adversariam synagogam, id est, orationibus et precibus
adversaries nostros absumit? Non ergo armis pugnandum est
nobis adversum hostes nostros invisibiles, sed orationibus et
verbi Dei meditationibus et operibus ac sensibus rectis. Sic
enim armabantur et patres, fide et operibus vincentes. . . .

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 65

and misrepresented this belief. Origen did, as a
matter of fact, interpret this reproach as referring to
fthe intercession and assistance of the angels and
blessed /spirits, and in his reply he has some words
which have important bearings on our subject. He
states that all God s friends and favourites angels,
souls, and spirits are well disposed towards those
who possess God s favour and goodwill. They know
who are worthy of the divine approval, and they are
not only well disposed to them, but they co-operate
with them in their endeavour to please God : they
seek His favour on their behalf; they pray and
intercede along with them for the grace of God ; they
are full of sympathy for the human race, and fight
along with those who are consecrated to God and
His service against the demons, whom Christ the Lord
has overcome.} Although Origen in this passage
states his own views on the doctrines relating to
spirits and human souls in opposition to the views
of an individual, still the fact remains that, by
meeting the objections of Celsus in this way, he

1 ORIGENES Against Celsus, viii. 64 (ed. KOETSCHAU, II.

p. 280) : "Eva ovv TOV eVt Traat Qfbv TJ/JUV efcev/JLeviffTtov /cat TOVTOV t Xew
evKT^ov, ^evfj.evi^6fj.evov fvaefSetg. /cat Trda-r/ apery, a Be /cat AXXoi/j rii/ay
/Sot^Xerat /xerd TOV eirl rraaiv e^evfj-evi^eaOai. 6fbv, /cara^OT/adra; art facrirep
T(f Kwovnevq) ffit}/j.aTL d/coXoi 0et rj T?}S ovaas duroO Kivrjais, TOV avrbv
rp jirov rtf e^ev/JLevifccrdai rbv eirl Traat 6ebv eVerat eu/uei/ets x lv ir6.vTOis
TOI)S eKflvov 0tXous ajyeXovs /cat i/ uxds /cat irvev^ara, avvaiffdovTai yip
r&v a^idiv TOV trapa TOV 0eov ev/J.eviff(J.ov, /cat ov fj. jvov /cat avToi evfj,evts
rots d^t ots yivovTOu. dXXd Kal ffv/^TrpaTTOvcn TO?? ^SouXo/te^ots TOV errl Tracrt
6ebv 6fpa.Treveiv /cat eevfj.vtfovTai /cat ffwc&xmmt /cat ffvi&gt;aiovcriv. uxrre
ToXfidv f/yuas \tyeiv OTI avOpdjiroLS /zerd wpoaiptcrews -rrpoTiQepevoi.* TO.
KptiTTova tfrxpfttvott TW 6e&lt;4&gt; fj.vpiai oaai &K\r)Tot crvvevxovTai 5vvafJ,eis
iepal, cri/yUTrap^ouo at ry iiriK^p^} TjfJ.(t&gt;v ytvei

66 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

proves that at that time such views were current in
Christian circles. The extent to which the belief in
the connection existing between the just in heaven
and Christians on earth had spread among the people
is most strikingly illustrated by the practice of asking
the dead to intercede before God. Even apart from
the martyrs, of whom we shall speak in particular
later on, we find clear evidence for this practice in
the third century in Africa and Rome. St. Cyprian
asks the consecrated virgins to be mindful of him,
when truly preserved virginity shall begin to be
honoured in their persons, i.e., when they shall happily
have attained to the goal in the next world. 1 This
request of the holy bishop can only be understood as
referring to the intercessions which the virgins shall
present to God in heaven on behalf of their former
chief pastor. This is plain from another passage in
one of Cyprian s letters to Bishop Cornelius of Rome,
where he begins by exhorting him that they may be
mindful of one another in their prayers here below,
and then goes on to say that whichever of them dies
first should preserve his love in God s presence, and
not cease to pray for the brethren and sisters. 2 These

1 CYPRIAN us, de habitu virginum, xxiv. (ed. H ARTEL, i. p.
204) ; Quce vos singula, o bonas virgines, observare, diligere,
implere debetis quae Deo et Christo vacantes ad Dominum,
cui vos dicastis, et majore et meliore parte pneceditis. Pro-
vectas armis, junioribus facite magisterium : minores natu,
prcebete conparibus incitamentum. Hortamentis vos mutuis
excitate, aemulis de virtute documentis ad gloriam provocate.
Durate fortiter, spiritualiter pergite, pervenite feliciter. Tantum
mementote tune nostri, cum incipiet in vobis virginitas honorari.

2 Epistula, Ix. 5 (ed. HARTEL, ii. p. 694) : Incumbamus gem-

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 67

requests of Cyprian s necessarily presuppose the con
viction that the souls of the departed elect are able to
assist the surviving faithful through their prayers to
God, and to obtain for them protection and grace.
It is the same belief as that which underlies Origen s
statements. There are some Roman epitaphs belong
ing to the end of the second century and to the third
century which express the same conviction even more
unmistakably. In these the surviving relatives who
set up the epitaph directly invoke the dead to obtain
their intercessions for themselves and others. Thus
we read in an inscription from the lower gallery of
the catacomb of St. Priscilla, which was used as a
burial place in the second and third centuries : l

Marine, im mentem (= in mente) nos habeto duobus
( duos) et Macriane f(iliam) c(arissimam).

Plainly the parents of the deceased Marinus
address these prayers to him on behalf of themselves
and of his sister.

Similarly we read in epitaphs certainly belonging
to the period before Constantine :

Pete pro parentes tuos (sz c). 2 Pete pro Celsinianu

itibus adsiduis et cleprecationibus crebris. Hose sunt enim
nobis arma caelestia qure stare et perseverare fortiter faciunt.
Haec sunt munimenta spiritualia et tela divina qua* protegunt.
Memores nostri invicem simus, Concordes adque unanimes,
utrubique pro nobis semper oremus, pressuras et angustias
mutua caritate relevemus, et si quis istinc nostrum prior divinse
dignationis celeritate pnrcesserit, perseveret apud Dominum
nostra dilectio, pro fratribus et sororibus nostris apud miseri-
cordiam patris non cesset oratio. See above, p. 51.

1 DE ROSSI, Bullettino di arch, crist. 1892, p. 1 14.

2 FERRET, Catacombes de Rome, t. v. pi. xxxiii. 8.

68 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

conjugem (sic}. 1 Petas pro sorore tua, is the conclusion of
an epitaph from a cemetery in the Salarian Way, now in
the Lateran museum. 2

Occasionally the benefit for which the departed is
to pray is stated more definitely ; thus, in the epitaph
of Atticus :

Attice, dormi in pace, de tua incolumitate securus, et
pro nostris peccatis pete sollicitus. 3

And again an epitaph from a catacomb on the
Salarian Way runs :

Suti, pete pro nos (sic) ut salvi simus. 4

That these prayers were considered in the light
of intercessions offered up for the faithful by those
who were pre-eminently " the saints " is plain from
the following conclusion of an epitaph from the
catacomb of St. Priscilla : EL/XCW vwep ydmcov /mera T)O&gt;J/
ayiwv. 5 The prayer "with the saints in the other
world clearly indicates that intercessory character

1 Ibid. pi. xxvii. 60.

2 The complete text runs :

ANATOLIUS FILIO BENEMERENTI FECIT
QUI VIXIT ANNIS VII MENSIS VII DIE
BUS XX ISPIRITUS TUUS BENE REQUIES
CAT IN DEO PETAS PRO SORORE TUA.

Lateran Museum, Inscr. cl. viii. n. 19 : DE ROSSI, //. Museo
epigrafico Pio-Lateranense, tav. viii. n. 19. PERRET, Catacombes,
v. pi. Ixx. n. 5. Here, as frequently elsewhere, we find requests
for the intercession of the departed coupled with wishes and
prayers for the salvation of the departed soul.

3 DE Rossi, Bullettino, 1894, p. 58.

4 MARANGONI, Acta S. Victorini, p. 90.
6 DE Rossi, Bullettino, 1890, p. 143.

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 69

which all petitions of the departed souls possessed in
the eyes of the faithful.

Two other inscriptions may be cited among the
epitaphs belonging to the period before Constantine l
on account of their definiteness. One of them comes
from the Ostrian cemetery in the Via Nomentana
and runs as follows :

&KOLKOS gvOade Kel/re fj,era rCiv a/yiuv.
8e Kal TJ/AWV 4v rcu/s aytais vftuv Trpeuxas (&)/ Kal TOV

We see here plainly what is meant by the " remem
brance," for which petition is made to the departed,
from the addition : " in your holy prayers." The prayer
is addressed not to the innocent child Dionysius alone,
but also to the " saints " among whom he rests in the
catacomb, i.e., martyrs buried therein.

The other inscription comes from Gaul. It is the
concluding verse of the celebrated inscription of
Autun in which Pectorios, the writer of the epitaph,
beseeches his departed parents and brother in the
peace of the " Ichthys," i.e., Christ, to be mindful of
him, i.e., in the sense of interceding for him :

1 Cf. Professor KIRSCH S work, "Die Acclamationen und
Gebete der altchristl. Grabschriften, p. 54 et seqq. where other
inscriptions will be found.

2 MARCHI, Monumenti delle arti cristiane primitive, p. 104 ;
FERRET, Catacombes, v. pi. xliv. 3 ; WILPERT, Ein Cydus
ckristologischer Gemdlde, p. 42. Transl : Dionysius, an innocent
child, rests here with the saints. Be ye mindful of us in your
holy prayers, and also both of him who wrote this inscription
and of him who incised it. In the sixth line the last word
should be

70 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

/ecu d

This monument proves the existence of the same
belief in Gaul as we have found in Africa and in Rome.

The importance of all this for the purpose we have
in hand is obvious. The practice, spread through the
West, of invoking the souls of the faithful, believed to
be in possession of the kingdom of heaven, for the
assistance of their prayers with God, shows the
existence of the same belief among Christian people
as we saw lay at the root of Origen s speculations.
It is closely connected with the doctrine that all who
participate in the benefits of redemption are united
to one another by spiritual bonds. The departed
just remain in touch with living believers : they take
an interest in their well-being, and, as their interceders
with God, strive to gain for them grace and protection.
From these premises the Christian people drew the
conclusion that they could invoke departed souls to
obtain their assistance and intercessions. In their
writings on prayer, the teachers of the Church in the
third century do not specially deal with these invoca
tions. Origen indeed speaks of prayers, intercessions
and thanksgiving which may be addressed to the
saints ; 2 but he seems clearly to mean only the saints

1 From all that has been written on this monument it is
sufficient to mention LE BLANT, Inscriptions chrttiennes de la
Gaule, I. p. 8, n. 4 ; POHL, das Ichthysmonument von Atttun,
Diss., Berlin, 1880 Transl : Aschandios, father, beloved of
my heart, with my sweet mother and brothers, in the peace of
the Ichthys, be mindful of thy Pectorios.

2 ORIGENES, On Prayer, xiv. 6 (ed. KOETSCHAU, II. p. 333).

IN THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 71

in the primitive Christian, sense of the word, i.e.,
living believers, for he goes on to say, one is only to
address prayers for assistance to a saint, if one comes
across a Paul or a Peter. It is easy to understand
that no special mention was made of these invocations
when the writers were dealing with prayer in the
strict sense, *&gt;., praise, thanksgiving, petition ad
dressed to God as the sole supreme Lord. Origen
even says : If we understand what Tr/oocrefxi i s &gt; it ls
well not to pray to any creature, not even to Christ
Himself, but only to the God of the universe, to the
Father to Whom our Saviour both prays Himself and
teaches us to pray. 1 In the other treatises, too, it is
prayer in the strict sense, as addressed only to God,
which is discussed. The inscriptions quoted above,
however, prove beyond doubt that the faithful
besought the souls of the just for their intercessions.

Although the faithful felt sure that these souls
were able to obtain for them God s assistance by their
intercessions, still they did not place all the saints in
heaven on one level in this respect. The martyrs
were the saints held in special honour, as having
attained to the foremost rank among the elect, and
with them the apostles, both as founders of the Church
sent directly by Christ and perfect servants of the Lord,
as well as martyrs. The special reverence for the
martyrs of the faith, including the apostles, attained
to yet further development ; they were the " saints " in
the highest sense of the word, and their veneration took
definite shape during the course of the third century.

1 On Prayer, xv. I (ed. cit. II. 333 el seqq^). This is not the
place to investigate these views of Origen.

72 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

CHAPTER III.

THE POSITION OF THE MARTYRS IN THE CHURCH.

VIOLENT death suffered for the confession of the true
faith elevated the believer to the rank of a perfect
saint in the estimation of his contemporaries and of
subsequent generations. The writers of the third
century contain numerous indications both of this
special veneration for the martyrs, and the practical
effect it had upon the liturgy and on the religious
practices of the faithful. It is during this period
that the veneration of the martyrs attained to its full
development in the Church.

The strength which enabled the martyrs to die for
their faith comes from the Holy Ghost, and thus,
according to the statement of St. Irenseus, they are
" spiritual," because they have received the participa
tion of the Divine Spirit. 1 Martyrdom is the summary
of all Christian virtues ; the martyr is a perfect servant
of God ; so declares Clement of Alexandria in a long
passage in the fourth book of his " Stromata." He

1 Adv. hares. V. ix. 2 (ed. STIEREN, i. p. 737) : Si igitur hoc,
quod est promptum Spiritus, admisceat aliquis velut stimulum
infirmitati carnis, necesse est omnimodo, ut id quod est forte,
superet infirmum, ita ut absorbeatur infirmitas carnis a forti-
tudine Spiritus ; et esse eum qui sit talis, non jam carnalem, sed
spiritualem, propter Spiritus communionem. Sic igitur martyres
testantur et contemnunt mortem, non secundum infirmitatem
carnis, sed secundum quod promptus est Spiritus.

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 73

sets an extraordinary high value upon martyrdom for
the faith, and regards the martyr as a perfect Christian
gnostic, whose example he holds up in various ways
before those believers, the " gnostics," who are striving
after perfection. It is especially the ethical side of
martyrdom upon which Clement lays stress as bearing
upon the end he has in view, and he draws out the
different virtues it entails with strict regard to perfect
(gnostic) Christians. He places the believer who
strives after the practice of Christian perfection close
to the martyrs, allotting to him also the highest rank
among the just. 1 The martyrs are the perfect
imitators of Christ and the apostles. Just as Christ
alone drank the chalice of suffering for the salvation
of all men, both unbelievers and those who should
follow Him, so did the apostles, true and perfect
" gnostics," in imitation of Him, suffer for the
Church which they founded. And so the perfect,
following in the footsteps of the apostles, must guard
themselves from all sin, and, because they love God,
love their neighbour also, in order that they, should
they ever find themselves in such a position, may be
able to drink the chalice of suffering for the Church. 2
By martyrdom, a Christian manifests perfect love of
1 CLEMENS ALEX., Stromata, IV. iv. 15 (ed. DINDORF, II.

2 CLEMENS ALEX, Stromata, IV. ix. 75 (ed. DINDORF, II.

359) : M6vos Tolvvv b KM/HOS did TTJV r&v linfiQvXcvbvTuv aurw a.v6p&lt;J!)Trcjv
Kal TT)v T&V diriaruv diroKddapffiv " Zirif v rb iroTrjpiov." bv /zi/ioi/yuevoi ot

Ziradov. oi rws o\Jv Kal oi /car fx^os T& aTroffTo\iKbv
-yj/axrri/coi dvayudpr^rot ye ^LVOLL dcfitiXovcri Kal cu dyd jr fjv r^v irpbs rbv
Kvpiov dyairav Kal rbv ir\T](rlov iv , t KaXoitj Trep/crracrts, VTrtp
d&lt;rKavd\L&lt;TTOi rds ^Xi^ets viro/j.tvovTS TO iroTypi.oi&gt;

74 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

God : on account of this love he willingly quits this
earthly life, and even thanks him who has been the
cause of his death and him who delivered him up.
With a good courage he goes to the Lord, his Friend,
for whom he has delivered up his body and even, as
the judges expected, his soul, and is greeted by the
Saviour with the words, " Oh dear brother," because
of the resemblance of the martyr s life to His own.
Christians gave to martyrdom the name of " per
fection," not meaning thereby that it was the end of
man s life, but because it manifested the perfect work
of love. 1

( All writers of the third century hold the view that
martyrdom confers perfect purification from all sins,
even when the believer suffers before having received
baptism. Clement of Alexandria applies Wisdom
iii. 2-4, to martyrdom, and sees in the passage the
expression of a glorious purification to be obtained
thereby. 2 From our Lord s words, " He that shall
persevere to the end, he shall be saved " (St. Matt,
xxiv. 13), he draws the conclusion that martyrdom is
purification from sin and subsequent glory. 3 Among

1 CLEMENS ALEX., Strowata, IV. iv. 14 (ed. DINDORF, II.
323). The most important passage is as follows : Ev6apcn?)o-a.s

Toivvv Trpbs (pi\ov TOV xvpiov, vircp oi5 Kal TO crw/uct CKUV 7rid5(i)Kei&gt; } Trpbs
5e Kal TVJV ^VX^r, ws ot StKcurrcu TrpotreSo/c^craj , ^p%erat, " 0tXe KacriyvrjTe"
TTOLTITIKUS ye aKovffas irpbs TOV ffWTypos y/nuv dia T^V TOV fiiov 6/xoi&lt;5r7;ra.
Cf. also VII. xi. 66-67 (ed. cit. III. 308 et seq.}.

2 Stromata, IV. xvi. 104 (ed. DlNDORF, II. 376): Elra ftr^ei
KdOapviv 2v5o$;ov TO jmapTvpiov dtdaffKOvaa "Kal 6\iya Ttu9tv9frm
fj.eyd\a vepyTtj6ri&lt;70VTa.i, 6 rt 6 debs tireipacrev O.VTOVS."

3 Ibid. IV. ix. 74 (ed. cit. II. 359): ^ot/cev ovv TO /j.apTvpiov

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 75

the different means enumerated in the gospel for the
foregiveness of sins, Origen ranks second the suffer
ing of martyrdom. 1 In his striking work on martyr
dom, he exhorts the reader, whenever he is in danger
of dying a natural death, to consider with him that
perhaps they are saved from that sort of death in
order that they may be baptized in their own blood
and be cleansed from all sin, so that they may receive
their abode at the heavenly altar along with their
fellow-warriors. 2 In fact, Origen goes so far as to
give here the baptism of blood the preference over
the baptism of water, referring to our Lord s words,
" I have a baptism wherewith I am to be baptized :
and how am I straitened until it be accomplished ? "
(St. Luke, xii. 50). Few of those who received the
latter keep free from sin to their life s end, but those
who receive the former can sin no more. He, himself,
would depart this life full of confidence could he
receive this second baptism by dying for Christ. He
gives his reasons for this, i.e., the prince of this world
can find nothing in the soul that has been cleansed
by its own blood which he can bring against it ; and
further, the souls of the martyrs ascend above all the

1 ORIGENES, In Lev it. horn. II. 4 (MIGNE P. G. XII. 418) :
Audi nunc quantae sint remissiones peccatorum in evangeliis.
Est ista prima, qua baptizamur in remissionem peccatorum.
Secundo remissio est in passione martyrii.

2 ORIGENES, Exhortation to Martyrdom, 39 (ed. KOETSCHAU,

I. p. 37) ; r Tro/j,vr)&lt;rd&lt;jjfji,v &CCKTTOJ, 6&lt;raKts dirodave tv rbv KOivbv Bavarov
tKivSvvewc, Kal \oyiau/ji.da, /XT? Trore 5ta TOVTO ^Trjp-rjdTj^ev, iva.
fia.irTLffa.iJ.evoi TW CO.VT&V ai yucm KCU a7roXoi crd/xej&gt;oi iraffav ct/ua/mcu Tropd
T&lt; iv ovpavois 6 valour Triply ras diaTpifias //.era rdv

76 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

powers of the air right up to the heavenly altar. 1 We
find the same views in western writers. Tertullian in
several places expresses the same opinion in a manner

1 ORIGENES, In Librum Judicum horn. VII. 2 (MiGNE P. G.
xii. 980 et seq.) : Perpendit enim nostra probatio non usque ad
verbera solum, sed usque ad profusionem sanguinis pervenit :
quia et Christus, quen sequimur, pro redemptione nostra effudit
sanguinem suum, ut inde exeamus loti sanguine nostro.
Baptisma enim sanguinis solum est quod nos puriores reddat,
quam aquas baptismus reddidit. Et hoc ego non praesumo, sed
Scriptura refert, dicente Domino ad discipulos : " Baptismum
habeo baptizare quod vos nescitis. Et quomodo urgeor ut
perficiatur" (Luc. xii. 50). Vides ergo quia profusionem
sanguinis sui baptisma nominavit. Et ne ista dicens offendam,
vereor ne istud baptisma eminentius sit illo baptismate quod
per aquam traditur. Illo enim accepto, valde pauci sunt ita
beati, qui id immaculatum usque ad exituin vitae servare
potuerint. Hoc vero baptismo qui baptizatus fuerit, peccare
jam ultra non potest. . . . Mihi si concederet Deus, ut
proprio sanguine diluerer, ut baptismum secundum morte pro
Christo suscepta perciperem, securus ex isto saeculo discederem :
ut veniens ad animam meam de hac vita exeuntem, princeps
hujus mundi non inveniret quidquam, quin potius et sanguinis
mei profusione sopiretur, nee auderet in aliquo criminari
animam cruore suo dilutam, morte sua clarificatam, sanguine suo
lotam. . . . Quis enim sequi possit animam martyris, quas
supergressa omnes ae rias potestates, ad cceleste tendit altare?
Ibi enim sub altare Dei animas martyrum positse dicuntur
diebus ac noctibus proclamare dicentes : " Quousque, Domine,
qui Justus et verus es, non vindicas sanguinem nostrum de iis
qui habitant terram ?" (Apoc. vi. 10). Ibi enim positae divinis
assistunt sacrificiis. Sed beati sunt qui hsec merentur. . . .
Beata ilia anima quae occurrentes sibi ae rias daemonum tuimas
profusi in martyrio sanguinis cruore deturbat. . . . Beatae
sunt ergo animae quae sic Christum sequuntur, quomodo eas
Christus praacessit. Et ideo quia sic sequuntur, usque ad ipsum
Dei altare perveniunt, ubi est ipse Dominus Jesus Christus
pontifex futurorum bonorum.

IN THE ANCIENT CHURCH.

quite in harmony with what Origen has said. Recalls
martyrdom the " second immersion," l the " second
bath " ; he also applies our Lord s words quoted above
to martyrdom, and in the blood and water which
flowed from our Lord s pierced side he beholds these
two baptisms represented. 2 By martyrdom all sins
are forgiven, and so Christians thank the judges who
condemned them for their condemnation ; Christians
condemned by them to death are liberated by God. 3
In view of the many dangers which threatened
Christians after reception of baptism and brought
many of them to ruin, God appointed this second

1 TERT. de Patientia, XIII. (ed. OEHLER, I. 610) : Cum vero
producitur ad experimentum felicitatis, ad occasionem secundas
intinctionis, ad ipsum divinre sedis ascensum, nulla plus illic
quam patientia corporis.

2 De baptismo, XVI. (ed. cit. I. p. 634) : Est quidem nobis
etiam secundum lavacrum, unum et ipsum, sanguinis scilicet,
de quo dominus : Habeo, inquit, baptismo tingui, cum jam
tinctus fuisset. Venerat enim per aquam et sanguinem, sicut
Joannes scripsit, ut aqua tingueretur, sanguine glorificaretur,
proinde nos facere aqua vocatos, sanguine electos. Hos duos
baptismos de vulnere profossi lateris emisit, quatenus qui in
sanguinem ejus crederent, aqua lavarentur, qui aqua lavissent,
etiam sanguinem potarent. Hie est baptismus qui lavacrum
et non acceptum reprassentat et perditum reddit. Cf. TERT. de
pudicitia, IX. (ed. cit. p. 812).

3 Apologeticus, c. L. (ed. OEHLER, I. p. 301): Ilia ipsa
obstinatio, quam exprobratis, magistra est. Quis enim non
contemplatione ejus concutitur ad requirendum quid intus in re
sit? quis non, ubi requisivit, accedit ? ubi accessit, pati exoptat,
ut tolam Dei gratiam redimat, ut omnem veniam at eo com-
pensatione sanguinis sui expediat ? Omnia enim huic operi
delicta donantur. Inde est, quod ibidem sententiis vestris
gratias agimus. Ut est aemulatio divinas rei et humanae, cum
damnamur a vobis, a Deo absolvimur.

78 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

means of obtaining full forgiveness of all sins and
of gaining eternal salvation. Martyrdom is the
highest expression of perfect love, and love covers a
multitude of sins. 1

Tertullian s great disciple, Cyprian, also compares
martyrdom and baptism, and regards the former as
a second baptism greater and more perfect than the
latter. This view ought to be impressed upon
Christians when in danger of persecution that they
may be prepared to suffer martyrdom. 2 During the

1 TERT. Scorpiace, vi. (ed. cit. I. 512) : Prospexerat et alias
Deus imbecillitates conditionis humanae, adversarii insidias,
rerum fallacias, saeculi retia, etiam post lavacrum periclitaturam
fidem, perituros plerosque rursum post salutem, qui vestitum
obsoletassent nuptialem, qui faculis oleum non praeparassent,
qui requirendi per montes et saltus et humeris essent reportandi.
Posuit igitur secunda solatia, et extrema praesidia, dimicationem
martyrii et lavacrum sanguinis exinde securum. De cujus
felicitate David : Beati quorum dimissae sunt iniquitates et
quorum tecta sunt peccata. Beatus vir ctii non imputaverit
Deus delictum. Proprie enim martyribus nihil jam reputari
potest, quibus in lavacro ipsa vita deponitur. Sic dilectio operit
multitudinem peccatorum quae Deum scilicet diligens ex totis
viribus suis, quibus in martyrio decertat, ex tota anima sua,
quam pro Deo ponit, hominem martyrem excudit.

2 CYPRIAN, ad Fortunatum, prcef. 4 (ed. H ARTEL, I. p. 319) :
Nos tantum qui Domino permittente primum baptisma creden-
tibus dedirnus ad aliud quoque singulos praeparemus insinuantes
et docentes hoc esse baptisma in gratia majus, in potestate
sublimius, in honore pretiosius, baptisma in quo angeli baptizant,
baptisma in quo Deus et Christus ejus exultant, baptisma post
quod nemo jam peccat, baptisma quod fidei nostrae incrementa
consummat, baptisma quod nos de mundo recedentes statim
Deo copulat. In aquae baptismo accipiuntur peccatorum
remissa, in sanguinis corona virtutum. Amplectenda res est
et optanda et omnibus postulationum nostrarum precibus
expetenda, ut qui servi Dei fuimus simus et amici.

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 79

baptismal controversy the belief that catechumens
martyred before baptism obtained the crown of
eternal glory equally with those who were baptised
before martyrdom was quoted against Cyprian s views
on the baptism of heretics. On this account he felt
himself compelled to deal with the question, and
to meet the argument in his letter to Jubianus. We
learn from this that all the teachers of the Church
maintained the view that for those who believed in
Christ martyrdom was the complete equivalent of
the baptism of water. 1 It is worth while to note in
this connection that in the acts of the martyrs
Rogatianus and Donatianus, of whom the former
died as a catechumen, Donatianus, when praying for
him, asks that God would regard the sincere faith of

1 CYPRIAN US, Epistula Ixxiii. 22 (ed. H ARTEL, II. p. 795):
Quo in loco quidam, quasi evacuare possint humana augmenta-
tione pnedicationis evangelicas veritatem, catecuminos nobis
opponunt, si quis ex his antequam in ecclesia baptizetur in
confessione nominis adprehensus fuerit et occisus, an spem
salutis et praemium confessionis amittat, eo quod ex aqua prius
non sit renatus. Sciant igitur ejusmodi homines suffragatores
et fautores hsereticorum catecuminos illos primo integram fidem
et ecclesias veritatem tenere et ad debellandum diabolum de
divinis castris cum plena et sincera Dei patris et Christi et
Spiritus sancti cognitione procedere, deinde nee privari baptism!
sacramento, utpote qui baptizentur gloriosissimo et maximo
sanguinis baptismo, de quo et Dominus dicebat habere se aliud
baptisma baptizari. Sanguine antem suo baptizatos et passione
sanctificatos consummari et divinre pollicitationis gratiam
consequi declarat in evangelic idem Dominus, quando ad
latronem in ipsa passione credentem et confitentem loquitur
et quod secum futurus sit in paradiso pollicetur, Cf. also his
treatise De rebaptismate, 11 (ed. cit. III. p. 82) 14 (ed. tit.
p. 87).

80 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

Rogatianus as baptism, and the shedding of his
blood as confirmation. 1

Martyrdom is perfect victory over the prince of
darkness and the evil spirits who exert all their
powers to draw away men from attaining salvation.
This is plain from some of the passages already
quoted. According to Tertullian the Christian is
snatched by faith from the jaws of the devil, but
by martyrdom he fells to the ground the enemy
of his salvation : by faith the Christian is delivered
from the devil, by martyrdom he merits the crown of
perfect victory over him. 2 Origen in consequence of
his views on the world of spirits and their activity in
regard to men, sees in persecution a battle between

1 Passio ss. Rogatiani et Donatiani, v. (RAINART, ed Ratisp.
p. 323) : Beatus antem Rogatianus sine baptismatis gratia se
perventum esse contristatur, sed hoc sibi ex fide credidit esse
pro lavacro, si fratris sui catholici osculum mereretur. Quo
comperto, beatus Donatianus pro germane his verbis fudit
preces ad Dominum dicens : Domine Jesu Christe, apud quern
hoc obtinent prompta vota, quod facta, quia ubi non potuisse
impedit, sufficere creditur voluisse, cum nobis donasti eligere,
tibi soli posse reservasti : sit famulo tuo Rogatiano pura
fides donum baptismatis, et si contigerit, persistente preside,
crastina die nos feriente gladio interire, sanguinis effusio fiat
ei Chrismatis sacramentum.

2 TERTULLIAN, Scorpiace, VI. (ed. OEHLER, I. p. 509) : Sed
si certaminis nomine Deus nobis martyria proposuisset, per
quae cum adversario experiremur, ut, a quo libenter homo elisus
est, eum jam constanter elidat, hie quoque liberalitas magis
quam acerbitas Dei pnest. Evulsum enim hominem de
diaboli gula per fidem jam et inculcatorem ejus voluit efficere
per virtutem, ne solummodo evasisset, verum etiam evicisset
inimicum. Amavit, qui vocaverat in salutem, invitare et ad
gloriam, ut, qui gandebamus liberati, exultemus etiam coronat.

IN THE ANCIENT CHUKCH. 81

the Church and the powers of darkness ; the martyrs
of Christ disarm these principalities and powers, and
triumph over them with Him. As they have been
His fellow-sufferers, so do they also share in the heroic
acts achieved by His sufferings, among which is the
triumph over the evil principalities and powers. 1 For
when the souls of those who die for the Christian
faith depart from the body in power and glory, they
weaken the power of the demons and frustrate their
wicked designs against mankind. It was Origen s
belief that the demons shrank from having again
recourse to violence, knowing as they did from ex
perience that the martyrs of truth overcame them,
and so, until they had forgotten their defeat, it is
possible the world will be at peace with the Christians.
But if they once more gather together their forces,
and, blinded by their own malice, seek again to
wreck their vengeance on the Christians and per
secute them, then they will be overcome and slain :
and the souls of the just, who have laid down their
lives for their faith, will once again defeat the armies
of the evil one. At times the demons attack Christians
even when handed over to the judges ; the good con-

1 ORIGENES, Exhortation to Martyrdom, 42 (ed. KOETSCHAU,

I. p. 39) : 077&lt;ri de dia Trpo&lt;pr)Tov 6 #eos - " Kaipu) Se/cry TrrjKovad aov /ecu
iv rj/j-tpq. o-uTijplas f^orjOrja-d croi." Trotos oCv &\\os einrpdo-deKTos Kaipbs,
f) 6 re did r^v et s 0eoi tv Xpurry evfftfieiav virb (ppovpav Trofj-Trevovres 4v
r&lt; Koar/jUf) Kal dpta/j-pcuovTes /xaXXov tfirep dpto.^e\&lt;6fjL^voL aTrayo/j-eda ;
oi ytp tv X/HOTW yudprvpes ffwcureKdiJOVTaL aury "rots dpxas Kal ras
^oiaas " Kal ffw9pta,fi(kfavffut w? KOIKWVOI ruv iradyvLtiTuv avrov
yii&gt;6iu,fi&gt;oi. OUTWJ A;CU rCov tv ro?s rradrjfj.acrii avrov avdpayaOii/jidTuv, &v
tern Kal TO dpta/Jipevaai "rcis dp^cts Kal ras tj-ovfftas," els yaer 6\lyov

82 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

fession of some causes them grief, the apostasy of the
others inspires them with fresh courage. 1 And so
the martyrs are as it were the protectors of the
whole Church against the power of the demons. 2

The souls of the martyrs enjoy the bliss of heaven
in a greater degree than all other Christian souls :
they attain immediately after death to the possession of
heavenly glory ; they pass at once to God and Christ
in the kingdom of heaven. It is well known how
various were the views of the authors of this period
concerning the condition of departed souls until the
end of the world. Yet all were agreed in this, that
the martyrs attained at once to God in heaven, even
although, according to the opinion of some, perfect
blessedness was granted them, as to all the other
elect (not even excepting the apostles), only after the

1 ORIGENES, Contra Celsum, VIII. 44 (ed. KOETSCHAU, II.

p. 258) : AXX ^TTfi at i/ uxat TUJI&gt; 5ta xptcrriavta yuov aTrodvijaKOVTCiiv 8t
fvcrefieiav /xer ei)/cXeas aTraXXarro/iefat rou &lt;rw//,aroj Kadypovv TTJV dvva/Aiv
T&V daifjiovbiv real drovurfpav avT&v iroiovv TT\V Kara rdv di dp&iruv
iri(3ov\T]v, did TOUTO oT//,at 777 Treipa /^adovTfS oi dai/moves eavrous
TfTTWyU^voi S /cat Kparovfj-cvovs VTTO r&v /u-apTtipuv rrjs dXydeias e(j)OJ3r)6T]cra.v
ira.\LV TJxeLV eirl TO a/uLvveadai Kal ourws, ews eTrtXd^w^rat &v
?vat ryv rov KOff/mov wpbs Xpto-riavous dprjvrjv
T7]v dvvafj-iv /cat iV6 TTJS /ca/ctas rv(p\ov[j,evoi
deXwffi. /cat Xptcrriai oi S 5tc6/cetv, TrdXw KadaipfdrjcrovTai /cat
Tore rdXtf at \fsvxal TUV evffe(3ovvTWv /cat 5t ev(Tt(3eiav dTrodvo/j.tviw rd
0-w/xara KaQeXovvi TO TOV Trovrjpov arpar^TreSoj/. The blood of the
martyrs destroys the power of the demons : ORIG. Comm. in
Joan. VI. 36 (MiGNE, P. G. XIV. 293).

2 In the acts of the martyrs it is usually the devil who appears
as the chief enemy and attacks the martyrs with the intention
of overcoming them ; by their fidelity unto death, the martyrs
overcome their opponent. Passages to this effect are so
numerous that it seems unnecessary to enumerate them.

IN THE ANCIENT CHUKCH. 83

end of the world and the final judgment. This
conviction is important for arriving at a judgment
regarding the relation between &gt;the souls of the
martyrs and the faithful on earth, Irenaeus teaches
that the Church, of the love she has for God, every
where, and at all times, sends forth a crowd of martyrs
to the Father. 1 The expressions used by Clement of
Alexandria to describe the martyrs reward point
necessarily to the conclusion that he attributed to
the martyrs their especial reward in heaven immedi
ately on their death. [ He points to the door of violent
death as being the entrance to true life. 2 The
martyr hastens away to higher regions, leaving his
body to those who are attached only to bodily things ; 3
set free by death, he hastens to the Lord, and is no
more affected by this change of life than a man who
passes from one period of his life to another. 4 We

1 IREN/EUS, Adv. h&lt;zr. IV. 33, 9 (ed. STIEREN, i. 671):
Quapropter ecclesia omni in loco ob earn, quam habet erga
Deum dilectionem, multitudinem rnartyrum in omni tempore
prsemittit ad Patrem. Cf. ibid. 31, 3 (ed. cit. I. 663 seg.}.

-CLEMENS ALEX., Stromata, IV. vii. 44 (ed. DINDORF, II.

341) : Tots 5 dd\tois ruv avOpwiruv ddvaros elvai 6 /3tat&lt;$raros r\ di
ai /uaros fj.aprvpia TOV Kvplov SoKt t OVK e56&lt;rt TTJS OVTMS oi^crrjs ^WTJS ctpx^"
elvat TT)v TOiavrrjv TOV 6a.va.TOv irv\-rjv, KO.I otfre rets rt/ids rds /J.TCL
6a.va.rov T&V otriws Se^Stw/corwi ot^re TOLS KoAdums TUV d5i/cws /cat dc

3 Stromata, IV. viii. 2 (eJ. cit. II. 349) : Our oiV T? r?}s eu
^\?rts ovd TI Trpos TOV deov dydwri Swravatrxeret Trpos ra v
fj,tvei 8 tXfvdepa KO.V dripiois ro?j a/rytamiTots KO.V r&lt;p
irvpi KCLV Ka,Ta.KTelvriTa.i /3acrct^oi5 TvpavviKais, rcus
0t\t ats d5o( Xwros Uvu TrepnroXci, r6 crcD^ta ?rapa5oOcra rots TOVTOV

4 Stromala, IV. xi. 80 (ed. &lt;//. II. 362) : Atd rl ot ou
SiwK6fj.evoi ; (pr)&lt;rl rl ydp /cat ddiKov/j.da (is TT/JOS f^/xas a^rot s

84 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

find similar ideas in Origen. If we wish to save our
souls, he warns us we must lose them by martyrdom
in order to receive them back again better than
souls. If we lose them for Christ s sake by dying
for Him we obtain their true salvation. 1 If St. Paul
was caught up into the third heaven and heard
mysterious and unspeakable words, so too the
martyrs know more and greater things after death,
and do not descend hither again : provided they do
not separate from Christ s disciples, they will also
pass through the heavens and be exalted not only over
earthly mysteries, but also over heaven and celestial
things. 2 Yet more ; whosoever drinks of Christ s
chalice, i.e., becomes like unto the Lord by martyr
dom, will be enthroned along with the King of Kings,
will rule and judge. 3 /The martyrs, according to
Origen s view, share immediately Christ s glory in
Heaven. It is true, he thinks, all souls must pass
through the fires of purgatory at their entrance into
the other world, and those who are stained with sin,
although they are destined for paradise, will be purified
in this fire. 4 But when souls arrive in the other world

Trpos rbv Kvpiov /ecu Kaddnrep T/Ai/a as fJLTaj3o\T]y, OVTW 5k /cat
(3iov va\\ayriv VTro/JLevovres ; et 5 ev &lt;ppovoijj.ev, X^P iv fio 6/J,e6a ro?j rrjv
d(pop/j,riv TT)S raxet as aTroSy/j.ias Trap e&lt;r% 77/^0 is, el 61 ayair^v fjiapTVpoi/iiev,
el 5 JUT;, (fiavXol rives dvdpes elvai rots TroXXois edoKOV/Aev r]/j.els. Cf. xii.

84 (fd. tit. II. 364).

1 ORIGENES, on Martyrdom, 12.

2 Ibid. 13.

3 Ibid. 28.

4 ORIGENES, SelectainPsalmos, horn. III. i (eel. LOMMATZSCH,
xii. p. 181): Et ut ego arbitror omnes nos venire necesse est
ad ilium ignem. Etiamsi Paulus sit aliquis, vel Petrus, venit
tamen ad ilium ignem. Sed illi tales audiunt : " Etiamsi per

IN THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 85

already free from all sin, they pass unscathed through
these cleansing fires to their appointed place above
the heavens by God s throne.

tTertulIian states in the most express manner the
martyr s privilege of attaining immediately after
death to the Lord in heaven. The souls of all other
departed believers must await the day of the Lord s
advent before they can attain to celestial joy : they
await in the under-world the time appointed for the
judgment. The martyrs alone are excepted ; their
souls attain immediately unto the Lord. 1 This
opinion of Tertullian concerning the under-world
gave rise to contradiction. It was urged against him
that Christ descended thither to save Christians from
going there ; also what difference would there then
be between the heathen and Christians if all the dead
were retained in the same prison ? To this he replied

ignem transeas, flamma non aduret te." Si vero aliquis similis
mei peccator sit, veniet quidem ad ignem ilium sicut Petrus
et Paulus, sed non sic transiet sicut Petrus et Paulus. Et
quernadmodum ad rubrum mare venerunt Hebraei, venerunt
et Aegyptii, sed Hebraei quidem transierunt mare rubrum,
Aegyptii antem demersi sunt in ipso : hoc modo etiam nos si
quidem Aegyptii sumus, et sequimur Pharaonem diabolum,
praeceptis ejus obedientes, demergemur in ilium fluvium, sive
lacum igneum, cum inventa fuerint in nobis peccata, quse sine
dubio ex praeceptis elegimus Pharaonis. Si antem sumus
Hebrsei, et sanguine agni immaculati sumus redemti, si non
portamus nobiscum fermentum nequitiae, ingredimur quidem et
nos fluvium ignis. Cf. in Exodum horn. VI. 4 (ed. cit. ix. p. 63) :
In Lucam horn. XXIV. (ed. cit. 5, p. 179).

1 TERTULLIAN, de resurrectione carnis, 43 (ed. OEHLER, II.
522) : Nemo enim peregrinatus a corpora statim immoratur
penes dominum, nisi ex martyrii praerogativa, paradiso scilicet,
non inferis, diversurus.

86 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

that the signs preceding the Lord s advent must
first come before heaven be opened ; then he brings
forth as an argument in support of his view of the
under-world that St. John in the Apocalypse mentions
only the souls of martyrs as being in heaven, and
that St. Perpetua in her vision saw only the souls of
her fellow-martyrs there. In characteristic fashion he
concludes, " The whole key of heaven is thy blood." l
The various " mansions in our Father s house " are
allotted according to various degrees of merit 2

1 De anima, 55 (ed. OEHLER, II. 642) : Sed in hoc, inquiunt,
Christus inferos adiit, ne nos adiremus. Ceterum quod dis-
crimen ethnicorum et Christianorum, si career mortals idem ?
Quomodo ergo anima exhalabit in caelum, Christo illic adhuc
sedente ad dexteram patris, nondum del jussu per tubam
archangeli audito, nondum illis, quos domini adventus in sasculo
invenerit, obviam ei ereptis in aeram, cum his qui mortui
in Christo primi resurgent ? Nulli patet ccelum, terra adhuc
salva, ne dixerim clausa. Cum transactione enim mundi resera-
buntur regna caelorum. . . . Sed in aethere dormitio nostra
cum puerariis Platonis, aut in acre cum Ario, aut circa lunam
cum Endymionibus Stoicorum. Immo, inquis, in paradise,
quo jam tune et patriarchse et prophetae appendices dominicae
resurrectionis ab inferis migraverint. Et quomodo Joanni in
spiritu paradisi regio revelata, quae subicitur altari, nullas alias
animas apud se praeter martyrum ostendit ? Quomodo Per
petua fortissima martyr, sub die passionis in revelatione paradisi
solos illic commartyres suos vidit, nisi quia nullis romphaea
paradisi janitrix cedit nisi qui in Christo decesserint, non in
Adam ? Nova mors pro deo et extraordinaria pro Christo alio
et private excipitur hospitio. Agnosce itaque differentiam
ethnici et fidelis in morte, si pro deo occumbas ut paracletus
monet, non in mollibus febribus et in lectulis, sed in martyriis,
si crucem tuam tollas et sequaris dominum, ut ipse praecepit.
Tota paradisi clavis tuus sanguis est.

2 TERT. Scorpiace, 6 (ed. cit. I. 511) ; 12 (ibid. 527). Cf. ad

IN THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 87

St. Cyprian holds the same view regarding the
martyrs : immediately after death they attain to their
heavenly crown and are associated with the angelic
choirs. To quote only one passage in proof of this,
he writes thus to several imprisoned confessors :
" Expectatis cotidie laeti professionis vestrse salutarem
diem et jam jamque de sseculo recessuri ad martyrum
munera et domicilia divina properatis, post has mundi
tenebras visuri candidissimam lucem et accepturi
majorem passionibus omnibus et conflictationibus
claritatem." 1 That the same deeply rooted conviction
prevailed in other quarters in the West appears from
the letters of the confessors Moses, Maximus, and
their companions to St. Cyprian, in which the grandeur
of martyrdom for the Christian faith is enthusiasti
cally described. In reading St. Cyprian s letter, it
was as if they actually followed the martyrs with
their eyes as they ascended into heaven and received
their place among the angels and celestial powers. 2

Afartyies, 4 (ibid. 13) ; de resurrect ione carnis, 43 (ed. cit. II.
522).

1 Epist. Ixxvi. 7 (ed. H ARTEL, II. 832). Cf. Ep. Iv. 20 (ibid.
638); ep. Iviii. 3 (ibid. 658); ep. Ixvi. 7 (ib. 731); de bono
patientice, 10 (ed. cif. i. 404). Cf. ATZBERGER, Esckaiologie, p.
534 et seq. The matter is so plain that there is no need to
dwell on it at greater length.

2 E pis tula XXXI. inter Cypr. 2 (ed. cit. II. p. 558) : Percepimus
igitur, iterum dicemus, frater Cypriane, magnia gaudia, magna
solacia, magna fomenta, maxime quod et gloriosas martyrum
non dicam mortes sed immortalitates gloriosis et condignis
laudibus prosecutus es tales enim excessus talibus vocibus
personandi fuerunt, ut quae referebantur sic dicerentur qualiter
facta sunt. Ex tuis ergo litteris vidimus gloriosos illos martyrum
triumphos et oculis nostris quodammodo czelum illos petentes

88 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

Among the glories of martyrdom it is expressly
stated that the martyrs attain without any delay to
the heavenly kingdom. 1 The same widespread con
viction appears in the acts of the martyrs belonging
to the third century, especially in those visions in
which the confessors beheld heaven under various
allegorical representations, and concluded that their
own death and entry into celestial joys were close at
hand. 2

prosecuti sumus et inter angelos ac potestates dominationesque
caelestes constitutes quasi contemplati sumus. Sed et Dominum
apud patrem suum testimonium illis promissum perhibentem
auribus nostris quodammodo sensimus. Hoc est ergo quod et
nobis animum in dies erigit et ad consequendos gradus tantre
dignationis incendit.

1 Epistula XXXI. inter Cypr. 3 (ed. H ARTEL II. 559) : Quid
enim gloriosius quidve felicius ulli hominum poterit ex divina
dignatione contingere quam inter ipsos carnifices interritum
confiteri Dominum Deum, quam sasvientis saecularis potestatis
varia et exquisita tormenta etiam extorto et excruciate et
excarnificato corpore Christum Dei filium etsi recedente sed
tamen libero spiritu confiteri, quam relicto mundo caelum
petisse, quam desertis hominibus inter angelos stare, quam
impedimentis omnibus sascularibus ruptis in conspectu Dei jam
se liberum sistere, quam cseleste regnum sine ulla cunctatione
retinere, quam collegam passionis cum Christo in Christi
nomine factum fuisse, quam judicis sui divina dignatione
judicem factum fuisse, quam immaculatam conscientiam de
confessione nominis reportasse. The perfect agreement with
the views, and even to some extent with the very terms, of St.
Cyprian is obvious.

2 Cf. Passio ss. Perpetual et Felicitatis, IV, XI XII. (ed. Pio
FRANCHI DE CAVALIERI, pp. 112, 126 et segg.} : Passio ss.

Jacobi, Mariani, &*&gt;. (Ruinart, ed. cit. 268, 272) : Acta martyrum
Scillitanorum (in NEUMANN, Derrbmische Staat und die christl.
Kirche, I. 74) : Acta ss. Fructuosi, &&amp;gt;c. (RuiNART, 266) :
Passio ss. Montani et Lucii, XXII. (ed. Pio FRANCHI, p. 85).

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 89

And so in the eyes of the faithful of that period
the martyrs were perfect followers of our Lord, elect
friends of God, heroic warriors and victors in the
strife against the powers of darkness and the enemies
of the Church: immediately after their death, they
received a special reward in heaven, as the reward of
their glorious victory. Let us now examine more
closely how the relations of the faithful to the martyrs
were effected by the privileged position granted to
the latter.

In the first place, the martyrs enjoyed the greatest
reverence and respect in the Church on account of
their renowned confession. To prove this from
particular instances is useless ; it follows obviously
from the evidence already quoted in proof of the
advantages of martyrdom. The Christians could
proudly point to the great number of those who by
their blood had borne witness to the faith. Quite
early in St. Irenaeus, we find martyrdom ministering
to the service of apologetics, for this father draws
attention to the fact that martyrs are only to be
found in the Catholic Church ; the other bodies have
nothing of the kind to point to, and maintain that
martyrdom is unnecessary. 1 By referring to Christ s

1 IREN^US, Adv. hcer. IV. 33, 9 (ed. STIEREN, I. 671) :
Quapropter ecclesia omni in loco ob earn, quam habet erga
Deum dilectionem, multitudinem martyrum in omni tempore
praemittit ad Patrem ; reliquis antem omnibus non tantum non
habentibus hanc rein ostendere apud se, sed nee quidem neces-
sarium esse dicentibus tale martyrium ; esse enim martyrium
verum sententiam eorum : nisi si unus aut duo aliquando per
omne tempus ex quo Dominus apparuit in terris, cum
martyribus nostris, quasi et ipse misericordiam consecutus,

90 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

words that He would confess those before His heavenly
Father who confessed Him before men, St. Irenaeus
refutes the persons who despised the martyrs and
found fault with Christians who were put to death
for their Christian confession. 1 In the eyes of the
faithful the martyrs were at that time " saints " in
an especial sense, and to them belonged the most
honourable titles of ,ua/ca/o&lt;o?, 2 benedicti* beati? for-

opprobrium simul bajulavit nominis et cum eis ductus est,
velut adjectio quaedam donata eis. Opprobrium enim eorum,
qui persecutionem patiuntur propter justitiam, et omnes pcenas
sustinent, et mortificantur propter earn quae est ergo Deum
dilectionem, et confessionem Filii ejus, sola ecclesia pure
sustinet (ssepe debilitata, et statim augens membra, et Integra
fiens ; quemadmodum et typus ejus, quae fuit illius Lot, salis
figmentum) similiter ut veteres propbetSG sustinentes persecu
tionem, quemadmodum Dominus ait : Sic enim persecuti sunt
prophetas, qui ante vos fuerunt ; quoniam nove quidem, sed
idem Spiritus requiescens super earn, ab his qui non recipiunt
Verbum Dei, persecutionem patitur.

1 Adv. har. III. 18, 5 (ed. STIEREN, I. p. 520) : Etenim ipse
confessurum se promittebat coram Patre suo eos, qui confiter-
entur nomen suum coram hominibus ; negaturum antem eos
qui negarent eum et confusurum qui confunderentur confes
sionem ejus. Et quum base ita se habeant, ad tantam temeri-
tatem progress! sunt quidem, ut etiam martyres spernant et
vituperent eos, qui propter Domini confessionem occiduntur, et
sustinent omnia a Domino praedicta, et secundum hoc conantur
vestigia assequi passionis Domini, passibilis martyres facti ;
quos et concedimus ipsis martyribus. Quum enim inquiretur
sanguis eorum et gloriam consequentur, tune a Christo con-
fundentur omnes qui inhonoraverunt eorum martyrium.

"-Acta Martyr. Lugdunensium, in EusrBlUS, hist, eccles. V.
1-3, passim.

3 TERTULLIAN, ad martyres, I. (ed. OEHLER, I. 3) ; 2 (ibid. 7).

4 Frequently in the letters of St. Cyprian.

IN THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 91

tissimi ac beatissimi. 1 St. Cyprian, in glowing words,
esteems the church blessed being glorified by the
illustrious blood of the martyrs. 2 Hence we also see
how the confessors languishing in prison, and suffer
ing already for their steadfastness in the faith, were
honoured by the faithful in every possible way. Not
only, as we might expect, was everything done to
relieve their sufferings, but the respect of Christians
found expression in special acts, such as kissing their
chains, 3 kissing the ground on which their feet had
trod, 4 and extolling them as faithful confessors. 5

The steadfastness of the martyrs under the most
frightful sufferings was an example to the rest of the
faithful and at the same time a cause of amazement
to the heathen, who, in consequence, had their attention
drawn to Christianity. Clement of Alexandria only

1 CYPRIAN, ep. X. (ed. H ARTEL, II. 490, 491) ; ep. XV. (ibid.
513). Cf. the Passio ss. Perpetucc el Felicitatis, 21 (ed. PlO
FRANCHI, 148).

2 CYPRIANUS, Epistula X. 5 (ed. HARTEL, II. 494) : O beatam
ecclesiam nostram quam sic honor divinse dignationis inluminat,
quam temporibus nostris gloriosus martyrum sanguis inlustrat.
Erat ante in operibus fratrum Candida : nunc lacta est in
martyrum cruore purpurea. Floribus ejus nee lilia nee rosae
desunt. Certentnunc singuli ad utriusque honoris amplissimam
dignitatem. Accipiant coronas vel de opere Candidas vel de
passione purpureas. In cadestibus castris et pax et acies
habent flores suos quibus miles Christi ob gloriam coronetur.

3 TERTULLIAN, aduxoiem, lib. II. 4 (ed. OEHLER, I. 689).

4 Passio Philippi episcopi Heracl (RuiNART, p. 444) : Tanta
antem cupiditate currebatur a singulis, ut nee nox a salutatione
cessaret. Prostrati quotidie solo, Philippi vestigia sancta
lambebant, scientes quantum in eo divini esset auxilii.

5 Cf. the writings of Origen and Tertullian addressed to the
martyrs, and St. Cyprian s letters to the confessors.

92 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

gives expression to the universal conviction when he
says that martyrdom is profitable for all, since by it
those who are in the Church are strengthened, the
heathen seeking salvation are led forward, and the
others are filled with astonishment. 1 Similar expres
sions are to be found in numerous writings of the
period. Christian teachers did not fail to encourage
the faithful, by the example of the martyrs, to stand
worthily before God, striving with body and soul to
attain to the crown of immortality along with them. 2
The martyrs were thus regarded as examples for
the faithful whom they should endeavour to imitate.
The view held by some of the teachers of this
period regarding the " satisfactory " character of
martyrdom played an important part in the further
development of the doctrine of the Communion of
Saints. We have already found indications in the
earlier period that martyrdom, like other good works,
could be offered up to God for the benefit of others,
or rather that by means of their death the martyrs

1 CLEMENS ALEX., Stromata, lib. IV. ix. 73 (ed. DINDORF,

II. 358) : Ao^Tjcrercu d riffiv, eav crv^eprj, d7ro\oyi)(ra(r6ai, iva Sid re
TTJS (j-aprvpias did re TT)S 6/j.o\oyias ux/jeAwPTcu ol Trdvres, io"x.vpo7roiou{j.ei&gt;oi
ju.ei&gt; ol /car eKK\7]ffiav, Oav/md^ovTes 8e /cat ets TriffTiv V7ra.y6fj.evoi ol e
rrjv crtoTrjpiav Tro\v7rpay[J.oi&gt;ria avTes, ol \onrol 5 inr

2 HiPPOLYTUS, Commentary on Daniel, 1 1. 38 (ed. BONWETSCH,
I. Il6 et seq.) : Hvt /ca yap av rts TUV ayiwv erri /uaprvpiov K\r)drj Kdl
fjLya\eld TLVO, virb dcov ei s avrbv yevrjdrj evdews TrdvTes Id6vres 6avju,dov(riv
TroXXot 5e 5i avrdv irio Tevo avTes w&lt;rai5rajs /cat avrol /j.dprvpes
deov yivovrai. y TrtorrewrajTes /cat ^ets diovs eavrobs de$ Trapa&lt;rTr](rwfj.ev
crtt}&lt;f)povovvTi (ru[j.aTi /cat if/vxf) /cat 7rveufj.a.Ti, tva TOV r^s d0^a/3&lt;rtas
&lt;TT(pavov /cat r/yuets \a(36vTs a/J-a TOIS /u.a/captois /J.dpTV&lt;rti&gt; crvv aurois rbv

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 93

could obtain for others grace and blessing from God
(vid. ante. p. 26). We now meet with a more
developed conception of the same idea. Clement of
Alexandria teaches that God does not cause the
sufferings of the just, but permits them in order to
bring good from them. He explains the words in
Isaias (v. 5) : "I will break down the wall thereof,
and the vineyard shall be trodden down," of the way
in which God s providence educates men by suffer
ings : Christ and the apostles suffered for our sins,
other men suffer for their own sins. 1 And so in a
certain sense " satisfactory " merit is ascribed to the
sufferings and death of the apostles in a similar
manner as to the sufferings of the Redeemer. Origen
goes further and states that the apostles and martyrs
by their death expiate the sins of the faithful, and
finds scriptural support for this idea by explaining in
this sense two passages from St. Paul s epistles (2 Cor.
xii. 15 ; 2 Tim. iv. 6), and the passage from the
Apocalype where the souls of the slain are re
presented under the altar. Then he laments that in
his time there were no martyrs, and expresses the
fear that the faithful of that date perhaps obtain no
pardon for their sins, on account of the lack of
martyrs. 2 He frequently refers to this, but nearly

1 CLEMENS ALEX., Stromata, IV., 12, 87 (ed. DINDORF, II.

365): " KafleXw yovv, (ferjai, rbv rotxov /ecu eWcu ets

W roidSe

5td rds ot/ceiav CKdcrrov a^aprlas, tiri d TOV Kvplov KCLI r&v a.irocrT6\wv dta
rds i]fj,u)i&gt;.

2 Origenes. In Num. bom. X., 2 (Migne, P. Gr. XII., 638) :
Sed redeamus ad pontificem nostrum, pontificem magnum qui
penetravit ccelos, Jesum Dominum nostrum ; et videamus

94 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

always accompanies his statements with expressions
indicating doubt. For instance, in the twenty-fourth
homily on Numbers, in explaining symbolically the
various animals offered in sacrifice, he interprets the
other animals as signifying the just in the same way
as the lamb signifies Christ, since they had given
their blood and so perhaps obtained atonement before

quomodo ipse cum filiis suis, apostolis scilicet et martyribus,
sumit peccata sanctorum. Et quidem quod Dominus noster
Jesus Christus venerit ut tolleret peccatum mundi et morte sua
peccata nostra deleverit, nullus qui Christo credit ignorat.
Quomodo antem et filii ejus auferant peccata sanctorum, id est
apostoli et martyres, si poterimus ex Scripturis divinis probare
tentabimus. Audi primo Paulum dicentem : " Libenter enim,
inquit, expendam et expendar pro animabus vestris" (2 Cor.
XII. 15); et in alio loco: "Ego enim jam immolor, inquit, et
tempus regressionis " sive " resolutionis meae instat " (2 Tim. IV.
6). Pro iis ergo quibus scribebat expendi se et immolari dicit
Apostolus. Hostia autem cum immolatur, ad hoc immolatur ut
eorum, quo quibus jugulatur, peccata purgentur. De martyribus
antem scribit Joannes apostolus in Apocalypsi, quia animas
eorum qui jugulati sunt propter nomen Domini Jesu assistunt
altari (Apoc. VI.) ; qui antem assistit altari, ostenditur fungi
sacerdotis officio. Sacerdotis antem officium est, pro populi
supplicare peccatis. Unde ego vereor, ne forte ex quo martyres
non fiunt, et hostiae sanctorum non offeruntur pro peccatis
nostris, peccatorum nostrorum remissionem non mereamur. Et
ideo vereor, ne permanentibus in nobis peccatis nostris, accidat
nobis illud quod de semetipsis dicunt Judaei, quia non habentes
altare, neque templum, neque sacerdotium, et ob hoc nee hostias
offerentes, peccata, inquit, nostra manent in nobis ; et ideo
venia nulla subsequittir. Et contra, nos dicere debemus, quia
hostiae martyrum non offerentur pro nobis, idcirco manent in
nobis peccata nostra ; non enim meremur persecutionem pati
propter Christum, nee mori propter nomen Filii Dei. Et ideo
etiam diabolus, sciens per passionem martyrii remissionem
fieri peccatorum, non vult nobis publicas gentilium persecutiones

IN THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 95

God for a part of the people. 1 In his commentary on
St. John s gospel, he connects this idea with the view
that by the death of the martyrs, the power of the
evil spirits is weakened, and so many as have been
overcome by evil spirits are set free from the burden
under which they have groaned. And so by the
martyrs death many obtain in a special manner
power and strength, like one who kills or charms a
snake, so that it no longer injures anyone but benefits
many. 2 Thus the martyrs, as it were, fill up what is
lacking of the sufferings of Christ, as Origen writes
to Ambrose and Protoctetus in his work on martyr
dom. 3 As Abel s blood cried from earth to heaven,

movere ; scit enim quia si ad reges et prassides adducamur
propter nomen Christi, ad testirnonium Judaeis et gentibus,
gaudium nobis et exsultatio sit, quia merces nostra multa in
ccelis est.

1 Homilia 24 in Num., I. (ed. LOMMATZSCH, 10, pp. 293-295) :
Quod si agnus qui ad purificandum populum datus est, ad
personam Domini et Salvatoris nostri refertur, consequens
videtur quod etiam cetera animalia quae eisdem purificativis
usibus deputata sunt, referri debeant similiter ad aliquas
personas, quce per meritum sanguinis Christi purificationis
aliquid humano generi conferant. Vide ergo ne forte sicut
Dominus et Salvator noster quasi agnus ad occisionem ductus
et in sacrificium altaris oblatus peccatorum remissionem universe
prasstitit mundo : ita fortassis et caeterorum sanctorum ac
justorum sanguis qui effusus est a sanguine Abel justi usque
ad sanguined! Zachariye prophetic qui interfectus est inter aedem
et altara : alterius quidem sanguis sicut vitulae, alterius sicut
hirci, aut capras, aut alicujus horum fusus est ad expiandum pro
parte aliqua populum.

2 ORIGENES, Comment, in Joan. Tom. VI. 36 (ed. dt. I. pp.
260 et seg.).

3 On Martyrdom, 36 (ed. KOETSCHAU, I. 33).

96 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

so may we suppose the voice of the blood of all the
martyrs cries to God. For as we have been bought
with the precious blood of Jesus, since Jesus has
received the name above all other names, so probably
will many be bought with the blood of the martyrs
since they will be more exalted than if they had
not been martyrs, even though they were saints. 1

These statements of Origen concerning the spiritual
power of the martyrs blood as a ransom for sin ex
press a view peculiar to the Alexandrian teacher, but
the conception that underlies them, i.e., that martyr
dom has a " satisfactory " power for others in God s
sight, was one that gained a wide acceptance. It was
this conception, in my opinion, which gave rise to the
custom which existed from the beginning of the
second century that confessors, who had stood firm
before their judges and had suffered in consequence,
should ask for the reconciliation of such notorious
sinners as had been cut off from church-fellowship
on account of their " peccata ad mortem." Tertullian

1 ORIGENES, Exhortation to Martyrdom, 50 (ed. cit. I. p. 46) :
Kal TOVTO 5e yivu&lt;TKU/j,ev, on TO elpyfj-evov -rrepl TOV "A/3eA dvaipedtvTos
virb TOV dvdpu-rroKTOVov /ecu adiKov KdiV e0apyU&lt;$fei Trdffiv, &v dSkus
^e^vdr] rb ctf/z,cu, TO ydp- " 0w^7/ al yuaros TOV d5eX0ou ffov /3oa irpbs fj.
K Trjs yrjs " vo/J,i&lt;ra)fAev Ayecr0cu teal irepl e/cdarou TWV papTvpuv, &v ij
&lt;f&gt;wvT1 TOV at/xaros f3o irpbs TOV 6ebv airb Trjs yfy. rd^a e KCU wa-Trep
" TifJ.iq&gt; ai /xari " r$ roO Iijaov Tjyopdadrifjiev, I^crou \a(36vTos "TO ovofj.a
TO virep TTOLV 6vofj,a," ourws ry "ri^iy cu^cm

TIVCS, /cat CLVTUV tr\tov v^ov^tvuv Trap 8 vif/wdyo-av dv 5t /catot
yev6fj.evot ^ napTvpri&lt;ra.vTes 5^- \6yov yap % ri t&gt;5 ws TOV

\l/wfftv Ka\e?&lt;T0ai, cos dyXov K TOV- " tav tywdC) K TTJS yrjs,
/dJaco wpbs t^avTov" do^dau^ev o$v Kal ^ets v\f/u&lt;rai&gt;TS ry
&v BavaTip Tbv debv. t-jreiircp b /mapTvpuv ry eavroO " OavaTy do^daei
TOV 6ebv." oirep Kal avTo dirb ludvvov /j./m.a6riKafj,ev etVcWos- "rayra 5^
flTre (rrjfj.divwv Trot Qavdr ood&lt;rec TOV 6ebv."

IN THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 97

does not condemn the principle on which this custom
rested when, in his work " Ad Martyres," he exhorts
the martyrs to preserve peace among themselves in
order they may eventually bestow it upon others. 1
In this, the earliest evidence for the practice
the work was written about A.D. 97 Tertullian
recognises the custom without making any further
statement as to the special significance of these
recommendations given by the confessors. In the
" De Pudicitia," one of his later writings full of bitter
ness and hatred against the Catholic Church, he
expresses himself in the strongest terms against the
rights of the confessors to impart the Church s peace,
i.e., the reception of sinners once more into the com
munion of the Church. He makes out that the con
fessors forgive sins, and since in his montanistic zeal
he denies to the bishop the right of forgiving sins,
so he argues, a fortiori, the confessor cannot possess
the same right. Not even in the moment of death
can he exercise it, for the forgiveness of sins can only
(directly and solely) come from God. 2 There is no
doubt that Tertullian exaggerates in this passage, as

1 TERTULLIAN, Ad martyres, I. (ed. OEHLER, I. p. 5) : Nee
illi (diabolo) tarn bene sit in suo regno (sc. in carcere), ut vos
committal, sed inveniat munitos et concordia armatos, quia pax
vestra bellum est illi. Quam pacem quidam in ecclesia non
habentes a martyribus in carcere exorare consueverunt. Et
ideo earn propterea in vobis habere et fovere et custodire debetis,
ut, si forte, et aliis prnsstare possitis. Cf. the notes in Oehler.

2 De Pudicitia, XXII. (ed. cit. I., p. 844) : Domini enim, non
famuli, est jus et arbitrium, dei ipsius, non sacerdotis. At tu
jam et in martyres tuos effundes hanc potestatem. Ut quisque
ex consensione vincula induit adhuc mollia in novo custodi:^
nomine, statim ambiunt mcechi, statim adeunt fornicatores, jam

98 THE COMMUNION" OF SAINTS

he does throughout this work in attacking the practices
of the Church. Still it would seem that ill instructed
Christians then, as at a later date, did regard the
recommendation of the confessors to receive back
the lapsed and other notorious sinners as an actual
remission of sins by the confessors. At any rate, the
confessor Celerinus, when writing to the confessor
Lucian, begs him to request of his fellow-confessors
that whoever might be the first of them to be crowned,
i.e., suffer martyrdom, should forgive the sisters

preces circumsonant, jam lacrimas circumstagnant maculati
cujusque, nee ulli magis aditum carceris redimunt quam qui
ecclesiam perdiderunt. Violantur viri et feminas in tenebris
plane ex usu libidinum notis, et pacem ab his quaerunt qui de
sua periclitantur. Alii ad metalla confugiunt et inde com-
municatores revertuntur, ubi jam aliud martyrium necessarium
est delictis post martyrium novis. Quis enim in terris et in
carne sine culpa ? Quis martyr saeculi incola, denariis supplex,
medico obnoxius et feneratori ? Puta nunc sub gladio jam
capite librato, puta in patibulo jam corpore expanse, puta in
stipite jam leone concesso, puta in axe jam incendio adstructo,
in ipsa, dico, securitate et possessione martyrii, quis permittit
homini donare quae deo reservanda sunt, a quo ea sine ex-
cusatione damnata sunt, quee nee apostoli, quod sciam, martyres
et ipsi donabilia judicaverunt ? Uenique jam ad bestias de-
pugnaverat Paulus Ephesi, cum interitum discernit incesto.
Sufficiat martyri propria delicta purgasse. Ingrati vel superbi
est in alios quoque spargere quod pro rnagno fuerit consecutus.
Quis alienam mortem sua solvit, nisi solus dei filius ? Nam et
in ipsa passione liberavit latronem. Ad hoc enim venerat, ut
ipse a delicto purus et omnia sanctus pro peccatoribus obiret.
Proinde qui ilium asmularis donando delicta, si nil ipse
deliquisti, plane patere pro me. Si vero peccator es, quomodo
oleum faculce ture sufficere et tibi et mihi poterit ? Habeo
etiam nunc quo probem Christum. Si propterea Christus in
martyre est, ut moechus et fornicalores martyr absolvat, occulta
cordis edicat, ut ita delicta concedat, et Christus est.

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 99

Numeria and Candida the sin of their apostasy. 1
Cyprian also writes to the Roman clergy that the
confessor Lucian had taken it upon himself to impart
peace and forgive sins in the name of Paul (one of the
martyrs), maintaining the latter had commissioned
him to do so. Cyprian excuses Lucian s conduct to
some extent on the grounds of ignorance and uncon
trolled zeal, and thereupon remarks that our Lord
said people were to be baptised in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, and by
baptism sins that had been committed were forgiven. 2

1 Epistula XXI. inter Cypr. 3 (ed. HARTEL, II. p. 531):
Rogo itaque, Domine, et peto per Dominum nostrum Jesum
Christum ut ceteris collegis tuis fratribus tuis meis dominis
referas et ab eis petas ut quicumque prior vestrum coronatus
fuerit, istis sororibus nostris Numeruc et Candidas tale peccatum
remittant nam hanc ipsani Etecusam semper appelavit, testis
cst nobis Deus, quia pro se dona numeravit ne sacrificaret : sed
tantum ascendisse videtur usque ad Tria fata et inde descendisse.
Hanc ergo non sacrificasse ego scio. Quarum jam causa
audita praeceperunt eas praepositi tantisper sic esse, donee
episcopus constituatur. Sed quatcnus per vestras sanctas
orationes et petitiones, in quas nos fidimus, quoniam estis amici
sed et testes Christi, qui omnia indulgeatis.

2 CYPRIANUS, Epistula XXVII. 3 (ed. cit. II. p. 543):
Exempla quoque epistoke Celerini boni et robusti confessoiis,
quam ad Lucianutn eundem confessorem scripserit, item quid
Lucianus ei rescripserit, misi vobis, ut sciretis elaborare circa
omnia diligentiam nostram et veritate ipsa disceretis, Celerinus
confessor quam sit moderatus et cautus et humilitate ac timore
sectye nostrae verecundus, Lucianus vero circa intelligentiam
dominical lectionis ut dixi minus peritus et circa invidiam
verecundiae nostne relinquendam facilitate sua immodestus.
Nam cum Dorninus dixerit in nomine patris et filii et spiritus
sancti gentes tingui et in baptismo pneterita peccata dimitti, hie
pnecepti et legis ignarus mandat pacem dari et peccata dimitti

100 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

St Cyprian, the bishops of Africa, the Roman clergy,
Dionysius of Alexandria, in a word the heads of the
churches, and no doubt the great majority also of the
faithful, did not regard the recommendations of the
confessors to receive back again those who had lapsed
as pardons for sin granted by the confessors. This
is clearly proved by the practice followed, both during
the persecution and after peace had been re-estab
lished, with regard to the re-admission of penitents
and with regard to the recommendations obtained
from confessors. In every case penance and the
laying on of hands was required, even from those who
had fallen into grievous sickness before the end of
the persecution, and, in accordance with the practice
followed in Rome and Africa, had, on that account,
been received back into church communion on the
written recommendation of a martyr. 1 Later on,
as is well known, still clearer distinctions were
drawn between the different classes of the lapsed, and
public penances were vigorously imposed upon each,

in Pauli nomine et hoc sibi ab illo dicit esse mandatum, sicut
in litteris ejusdem Luciani ad Celerinum factis animadvertetis,
quibus minus consideravit quod non martyres evangelium faciant,
sed per evangelium martyres fiant.

1 CYPRIAN, Epistula XX. to the Roman clergy, 3 (ed.
H ARTEL, II. p. 528) : Postmodum vero cum quidam de lapsis
sive sua sponte sive alio incitatore audaci flagitatione proru-
erent ut pacem sibi a martyribus et confessoribus promissam
extorquere violento impetu niterentur, de hoc etiam bis ad
clerum litteras feci et legi eis mandavi, ut ad illorum violentiam
interim quoque genere mitigandam, si qui libello a martyribus
accepto de saeculo excederent, exomologesi facta et manu eis in
pcenitentia inposta cum pace sibi a martyribus promissa ad
Dominum remitterentur.

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 101

and in every case the absolution of the sinner was
given in the authorised manner common in the Church.
With the exception of the passages quoted above, we
find no complaints in the Christian writings of the
period that confessors had forgiven sins in virtue of
the merits of their good confession. The Church
allowed a mitigation of penance for " peccata ad
mortem," where letters of peace had been granted by
confessors and martyrs, but nothing more : the absolu
tion and reconciliation came through the official rulers,
the heads of the Church. Although the letters of
peace were not regarded as conveying pardon for sin,
still they were not treated as mere recommendations,
like the commendatory letters given to Christians
when travelling from home, influential only on account
of the respect due to the confessors. It is clear from
St. Cyprian s letters that there was attributed to these
intercessions of the martyrs for the lapsed a certain
value in God s eyes ; it is presumed that the Lord is
moved to compassion towards sinners on the recom
mendation of the martyrs. The Bishop of Carthage
writes to his clergy that those of the lapsed who have
received letters of peace from martyrs, and may have
been helped when fallen by these letters before the
Lord, if in danger of death, may, after due penance
and the laying on of hands, attain to God with
the peace promised (not bestowed) to them by the
marytrs. 1 In a previous letter, Cyprian had spoken

1 Epistula XIX. 2 (ed. HARTEL, II. p. 525) : Quoniam tamen
significastis quosdam immoderatos esse et ad communicationem
accipiendam festinanter urguere, et desiderastis in hanc rem
formam vobis a me dari, satis plene scripsisse me ad hanc rem

102 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

of those "qui libellos a martyribus acceperunt et
praerogativa eorum apud Deum adjuvari possunt"
(Ep. xviii., i, ed. Hartel, II., 523). It is plain that
these words are to be taken literally as referring to
grace obtained from God for sinners by the martyrs,
for in a passage of Cyprian s treatise on the lapsed, he
inquires whether what the martyrs recommend is
according to God s law or not contained in the law. If
the former, it is to be assumed that the Lord wills it ;
but if the latter, one must first be sure that they have
obtained what they asked from God and then act
accordingly. 1 In respecting the recommendations of
the martyrs, the rulers of the Church merely act as if
carrying into effect what they know God has granted

proximis litteris ad vos factis credo, ut qui libellum a martyribus
acceperunt et auxilio eorum adjuvari apud Dominum in delictis
suis possunt, si premi infirmitate aliqua et periculo cceperint
exomologesi facta et manu eis a vobis in paenitentiam inposta
cum pace a martyribus sibi promissa ad Dominum remittantur.
1 CYPRIANUS, De lapsis, XVIII. (ed. HARTEL, I. p. 250) :
Sub ara Dei animae occisorum martyrum clamant magna voce
dicentes : " quousque, Dornine sanctus et verus, non judicas et
viridicas sanguinem nostram de his qui in terris inhabitant ?"
et requiescere ac patientiam tenere adhnc jubentur. Et
quemquam posse aliquis existimat remittendis passim donan-
disque peccatis bonum fieri contra judicem velle aut prius
quam vindicetur ipse alios posse defendere ? Mandant aliquid
martyres fieri : si justa, si licita, si non contra ipsum Dominum
a Dei sacerdote facienda : sit obtemperantis facilis et prona
consensio, si petentis fuerit religiosa moderatio. Mandant
aliquid martyres fieri : si scripta non sunt in Domini lege quae
mandant, ante est ut sciamus illos de Domino inpetrasse quod
postulant, tune facere quod mandant. Neque enim statim
videri potest divina majestate concessum quod fuerit humana
pollicitatione promissum.

IN THE ANCIENT CHTJKCH. 103

at the martyrs request. Cyprian instructs the lapsed
that the Saviour Who bore our sins, Whom God
delivered up for our sins, alone can forgive sins, and
so the Lord is to be appeased by the penance of
the sinner. Yet at the same time he expresses the
conviction that the merits of the martyrs and the
good works of the just avail much with the Judge,
but only when the day of judgment shall have
come. 1 This delay agrees with what Cyprian says
in other passages of his writings that the final
retribution only takes place after the last judg
ment at the end of the world. 2 Still the fact
remains that the merits of the martyrs cry to the
Lord for grace and mercy for others. We may con
clude from what has been said : the recommenda
tions of confessors and martyrs on behalf of notorious

1 CvPRIANUS, De lapsis, XVII. (ed. cit. I. p. 249) : Nemo se
fallal nemo decipiat. Solus Dominus misereri potest. Veniam
peccatis quae in ipsum commissa sunt solus potest ille largiri
qui peccata nostra portavit, qui pro nobis doluit, quern Deus
tradidit pro peccatis nostris. Homo Deo major non potest
esse, nee remittere aut donare indulgentia sua servus potest
quod in Dominum delicto graviore commissum est, ne adhuc
lapso et hoc accedat ad crimen, si nesciat esse praedictum :
maledictus homo qui spem habet in hominem. Dominus
orandus est, Dominus nostra satisfactione placandus est qui
negantem negare se dixit, qui omne judicium de patre solus
accepit. Credimus quidem posse apud judicem plurinmm
martyrum merita et opera justorum, sed cum judicii dies venerit,
cum post occasum srcculi hujus et mundi ante tribunal Christi
populus ejus adstiterit. Cf. Cypr. ep. XVIII. i (ed. cit. II.
523) ; ep. XXVII. i (ibid. 540) ; inter Cypr. ep. XXI. 2 (ibid.
530). Dionysii Alex. ep. in Eusebius, History of the Church,
VI. 42.

2 Cf. ATZBERGER, Eschatologie, pp. 534 et seq.

104 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

sinners owed their influence to the belief that the
merits of the martyrs sufficed before God on behalf
of others, and so, by way of intercession, God s mercy
could be obtained for them through these merits.
The whole practice of receiving back the lapsed into
Church communion on such recommendations is one
of the ways in which the veneration of the glorious
martyrs found expression.

This belief in the intercession of the martyrs for
sinners assumes that their souls in the glory of heaven
implore God s grace for Christians still living on earth.
That this was the general conviction follows from the
evidence already quoted. Origen compares the
sacrifices of the mosaic law which seemed to obtain
pardon of sin for the Israelites with the martyrs,
whose souls do not at once appear before the heavenly
altar, yet obtain forgiveness of sins for those who ask
it. Only priests without blemish were, under the old
covenant, admitted to the service of God, and they
offered only sacrifices free from spot. Such a priest
is now the Christian who stands fast by his confession
of faith, and fully performs all that is implied in the
term martyrdom. 1 Origen comforts his friend

1 ORIGENES, Exhortation to Martyrdom, XXX. (ed.
KOETSCHAU, I. p. 26) : Kat e7rtOT?7&lt;rov et TO Kara TO fj.apTvpi.ov
, ticrirep r6 TOV crcor^pos Kdda.pffi.ov ytyove r$ Koo-fjup, Kai dirrd
TToAAtDi depaireiq. K&$tup6ftfottt ytveTai, us yap oi rq&gt; /cara TOV

vo/j.ov 6v(nao-Typiy irpovedpevovTes diaKOvetv tdoxovv di
"Tp&yuv /cat Tavpwv " a&lt;f)e&lt;nv dyua/sr^/zdrcoi ticeivois, otfrws at
"rwv YeTre\eKi(r/j.tv(&gt;)v" Zveitev TTJS //.apri pias Iijcrov, ^ ^aT-rjv
ovpavols Bvcnaa Tfjpii}) Trapedpevovffai, diaKOvovffi rots ei&gt;xofj.{voi$
afJ.apTri/j.dTii}v .... dXXa r&v ieptwv oi /j.ev ap-fji/J-OL /cat

dv^ ias tdepairevov TO deiov, oi de (tefiWftltfltlHM /^w/xots, oOs
Mwi/a^s ev T$ AVITIK$, t^upi^ovTO O.TTO TOV Ovviao-Typiov. r/s

IN THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 105

Ambrose with the thought that in case he has to leave
his children by suffering as a martyr, still they will
prove themselves to be his true children by imitating
his works : and they will do so, for Ambrose can help
them more after such a death than if he were still
alive with them. He will then love them with a
more intelligent affection, and pray for them more
wisely, if he learns that they are his children and not
merely his seed. 1 The same conviction finds
expression in the custom by which the faithful
commended themselves to the martyrs after their
condemnation to death, and besought them to
remember them before God in the kingdom of heaven.
We have evidence for this practice in several of the
acts of the martyrs, such as the account of the
martyrdom of SS. Fructuosus, Augurius, and
Eulogius, where it is said the brethren visited
Fructuosus in prison exhorting and beseeching him
to be mindful of them. A Christian called Felix
seized Fructuosus by the hand as he was led into the
amphitheatre and begged him to remember him, and
the confessor made the characteristic reply : " I must
remember the Catholic Church, which is spread from
the^East even to the West." 2 In the passion of SS.

5e 6 d/j.w/ii.os lepevs &/ut,u/j,ov iepelov irpoa ^pwv ?} 6 Kparuv rrjs 6fJ.o\oyias
/ecu ir\rjp&gt;v Trdvra apiO/mbv, dv cnraireL 6 rov /Aaprvpiov \6yos ; Trepi o5 v
rots avurtpu TrpoeiprjKa/u.ei .

1 ORIGEN, Exhortation to Martyrdom, XXXVIII. (ed.
KOETSCHAU, I. p. 36).

2 Acta ss. Fructuosi, Augurii et Eulogii (RuiNART, p. 265) :
. . . Qui mox ut venerunt, recepti suntincarcerem. Fructuosus
autem certus et gaudens de corona Domini, ad quam vocatus
erat, orabat sine cessatione. Erat autem et fraternitas cum

106 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

Montanus and Lucius it is mentioned as a sign of
the deepest humility that, when the brethren asked
Lucius to be mindful of them, he implored their
intercessions for himself. 1 Eusebius tells how in
Caesarea, during the Diocletian persecution, a virgin
from Tyre, Theodosia, went up to some prisoners
who had openly declared themselves to be Christians
and were sitting before the law-court, in order " to
express her sympathy for them, and, as is probable,
to beg them to remember her when they appeared
before the Lord." Whereupon Theodosia was herself
seized and martyred. 2 Since the historian draws
this conclusion from Theodosia s having approached
the confessors, we must believe that this practice was
generally observed in the Diocletian persecution.
We can also see how great confidence the faithful
placed in the power of the martyrs prayers from the
vision of Agapius, who prayed during his confession
for two Christians, Tertulla and Antonia, that they too
might attain to the glory of martyrdom. It was
revealed to him that by a single prayer he had
merited the answer to his request. 3

ipso, refrigerantes et rogantes ut illos in mente haberet. . , ,
Qui (Fructuosus) cum se excalceasset, accessit ad eum corn-
mi litofraternoster, nomine Felix, et apprehendit dexteram ejus,
rogans ut sui memor esset. Cui sanctus Fructuosus cunctis audi-
entibus clara voce respondit : u In mente me habere necesse est
ecclesiam catholicam, ab oriente usque in occidentem diffusam."

1 Passio ss. Montani et Lucii, 13 (ed. Pio FRANCHI DE
CAVALIERI, p. 79) : Cui Lucio cum dicerent fratres : Memento
nostri, Vos, inquit, mei mementote ; quanta martyris humilitas,
de gloria sua nee sut ipsa passione pn^sumere ?

2 Eusebius, De martyribus Paloest, 7.

3 Passio ss. Jacobi, Mariani, &*., 1 1 (RuiNART, Acta sincera.

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 107

The confidence of the faithful in the prayers of the
martyrs did not cease when they had won their
glorious victory over death and had become partakers
of their heavenly crown ; rather it became all the
more intense. We can therefore conclude from what
has already been said that at this date the Christians
invoked the martyrs in heaven. If, as we have seen
from the undoubted evidence of inscriptions, departed
Christians who were considered to be in the enjoy
ment of blessedness with God were invoked by their
surviving relatives, much more must this have been
the case with regard to the martyrs, seeing how high
a value was set upon their merits, and how deep the
belief was that they certainly and immediately
attained to a special rank in the celestial glory. It
is no mere rhetorical flourish, but rather the expres
sion of a practice widely observed among
Christians, when Hippolytus in his commentary on
Daniel breaks out into an apostrophe to the three
holy children, who were regarded as martyrs by the
Christians, calling upon them to be mindful of him. 1
The faithful were firmly convinced that God does not

p. 272) : Tune Agapius, qui jamdudum martyrio suo consum-
mato ficlei sacramenta perfecerat, qui et ipse, cum pro puellis
duabus, Tertulla et Antonia, quas sibi carissimas ad vicem
pignorum diligebat, repetitis frequenter precibus oraret ut
secum et illas Dei dignatione martyres fierent, retulerat ineri-
torum suorurn tali revelatione fiduciam : Quid assidue petis,
quod una oratione meruisti ? Cf. Passio ss. Montani et Liicii^
i 5 (ed. Pio Franchi, p. 80).
1 HIPPOLYTUS, Commentary on Daniel, II. 30 (ed. BON-

WETSCH, I. pp. 98, 99) : Enrar&lt;? P.OL rpt?s Traces
Trapcu aXtD, tVo Kayw crvv vfuv rbv avrbv K\?)poi&gt; rbv rfjs /j-aprvpias
TIS fy r^raproj &lt;rvv vfj.iv.

108 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

leave unrequited the intercessions of the martyrs in
heaven, and so the author of the work " De laude
martyrii " turns confidently to the confessors with the
prayer that, since they are in the kingdom of heaven,
they will pray for him that he may one day be
admitted to behold their glory. 1 We shall see at the
end of this chapter how in the third century the
faithful commended the souls of the departed to the
martyrs, and we must conclude from this that in
their own petitions they invoked the intercession of
the martyrs. Finally, this belief underlies those
representations of the judgment which we find among
the paintings in the catacombs dating from the third
century. The type of these representations is as
follows : Christ sits as judge upon a throne, a roll
in His left hand, and His right outstretched in the
attitude of one who speaks ; before Him stands the
departed soul as an "orans " ; near the judge we see

1 De laude martyrii, 30 (ed. HARTEL, Cypria?ii Opp.
Appendix, p. $f): Itaque, carissimi fratres, licet sit hoc totum
dominicce promissionis et muneris licetque tribuatur ex alto
nee capiatur nisi ejus imperio, seel nee aut mente concipi aut
exprimi verbis aut oratione percurri aut quibuslibet eloquentire
viribus possit inpleri : tamen erit hoc benivolentia. 1 vestrce, erit
caritatis et amoris, si volueritis nostri memores esse cum in
vobis Dominus martyrium cceperit honorare. Vos intra se
sanctum illud altare, vos intra se magna ilia venerandi nominis
sedes veluti sinu quodam gremii amplectentes includit, vos
imperia perennis temporis sustinent et illud quod regnaturi
semper estis et victuri. . . . Ibit ante ora ejus (Christi) felix
caterva victorum et se densantibus turmis velut solis exortu
totum inluminatum agmen inferet potestatem, et*utinam per-
abjecto aliquando istud mihi videre contingat : sed hoc
Dominus poterit eflicere qui vobis petentibus creditur non
negare.

IN THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 109

two saints, who appear as intercessors for the departed. 1
These scenes exhibit on the one hand the confidence
which believers placed in the intercession of the saints
with God, and, on the other, we can conclude from
them that Christians in life commended themselves to
the saints, in order to gain through their intercessions
grace and mercy from the judge in the hour of death
and judgment.

The worship of the martyrs is no less apparent in
religious practices of a private character than in the
liturgical celebrations by which the Church honoured
their memory. We have seen how in the account
of Polycarp s martyrdom his commemoration was
annually celebrated on the day of his death. This is
the earliest evidence we possess for the existence of
a practice general in the third century. Tertullian,
as we shall see in the next chapter, refers to the
celebration in commemoration of the departed as
forming part of the common practice of the Church,
and it follows obviously that this practice was not
omitted on the day of a martyr s death. In St.
Cyprian s time, and probably earlier, the celebration
in memory of the martyrs had a special character of
its own, for he distinguishes the " memoriae martyrum "
as something special, since in writing to the clergy of
Carthage he directs that the days on which the
confessors died are to be noted, in order that " their

1 Cf. WILPERT, Les scenes du jugement stir les peintures des
cataconibes romaines (Compte-rendu du II e . Congrs sclent,
internat. des catholiques, Paris 1892). DERS., Die Malereien
der Sakramentskapellen in der Katacombe des heiL Callixtus,
Freiburg i. B. pp. 13 et seqq.

110 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

commemorations can be celebrated among the
memorials of the martyrs." He directs that Tertullus
shall inform him of the days on which the confessors
died in prison, and states that he will offer the holy
sacrifice in their memory in his place of retreat. 1 On
another occasion, St. Cyprian alludes to this practice,
saying that by sacrifice an annual commemoration is
celebrated in memory of the sufferings and of the
day of the martyrs deaths. 2 For the East the life of
St. Gregory Thaumaturgus bears witness to the
tradition that in his days an annual celebration
took place in commemoration of the burial of the

1 CYPRIANUS, Epistula, XII. 2 (ed. HARTEL, II. p. 503) :
Denique et dies eorum quibus excedunt adnotate, ut commemo-
rationes eorum inter memorias martyrum celebrare possimus :
quamquam Tertullus fidelissimus ac devotissimus frater noster
inter cetera sollicitudine et cura quam fratribus in omni obsequio
operationis inpertit, qui nee illic circa curam corporum deest,
scripserit et scribat ac significet mihi dies quibus in carcere
beati fratres nostri ad immortalitatern gloriosse mortis exitu
transeunt, et celebrentur hie a nobis oblationes et sacrificia ob
commemorationes eorum, qua3 cito vobiscum Domino prote-
gente celebrabimus.

2 CYPRIANUS, Epist. XXXIX. 3 (ed. cit. II. 583) : Nee rudis
iste aut novus est in Celerino carissimo nostro titulus gloriarum.
Per vestigia cognationis suse graditur, parentibus ac propinquis
suis honore consimili divinae dignationis sequatur. . . Patruus
et avunculus Laurentinus et Egnatius in castris et ipsi quondam
sascularibus militantes, sed veri et spiritates Dei milites, dum
diabolum Christi confessione prosternunt, pahnas Domini et
coronas inlustri passione meruerunt. Sacrificia pro eis semper
ut meministis, offerimus, quotiens martyrum passiones et dies
anniversaria commemoratione celebramus. Nee dcgener ego
esse nee minor poterat quern sic domesticis exemplis virtutis
ac fidei provocabat familiar dignitas et generosa nobilitas.

IN THE ANCIENT CHURCH. Ill

remains of the martyrs. 1 We can also appeal to the
evidence of the Emperor Constantine in his " Oratio
ad sanctum ccetum " as a witness for the previous
period, since the practices alluded to were certainly
not of recent introduction. He mentions the singing
of hymns in praise of God, the offering of the
eucharistic sacrifice in memory of the martyrs, the
burning of lights openly at the grave or in the Church
in which the grave was situated, and the agape at
which the poor and strangers were fed. 2 The offering
of the eucharistic sacrifice in memory of the martyrs
is expressly mentioned by St. Cyprian in both
passages already quoted. The psalms, passages
of scripture, and prayers were naturally chosen with
reference to the feast, and in some way the martyr
was commemorated in whose memory the feast was
held. At the burial and annual commemoration of
the martyrs the agape took place, as was customary
at the burial of the faithful. The meals at the
tombs of the martyrs, against which the rulers of
the Church had to raise their voice in the fourth
century, were survivals of the agape of the earlier

1 GREGOR. NYSS., Vita s. Gregorii l^haumaturgi, 27 (ed.
MlGNE, P. G. xlvi. 953) : Kcu SiaXa/SiWes dtXXos dXXax^ ruv ^aprvpuv
TO, (Tcjyuara, Kara TT\V errjaLOv rov viav&lt;naiov KUK\OV -rrepioSov (rvvibvTes,
r)yd\\ovTO rfi n/j.y T&V papTvpuv TravrjyvpifovTes.

2 CONSTANTINUS, Oratio ad sanctum caztum,\2(e&. VALESIUS,

i. 627 et seq.} : "T^ot 5r? /mera ravra. /cat \f/a\rripi.a. KO.I eixp-rj^iaL- xa.1
irpbs T&V irdvTuv eirb-rrTrjv frraivos. KaJ TOIO.VTT] rts e ! %apt0-rt as dvaia
ro?s dvdpdffLv dwoTfXciTai, dyvy fitv al /uaros, ayvi) 5e Trdcr^s /Sias- ovde
HT]V 6ff/j.T) \ifidvuv tTrnrodeirai., ovd TrvpKal d. Ko.Qa.pbv 5^ 0uis, Sffov
tfcpKteat irpos tK\a/j.\f/iv ro?$ tvxo^vois, aufypovivTO. re iro\\&gt;v xai ra
(Ti yU7r6(rta, irpoj \eov KO.I dvaKT-rjo iv r&v dfo/uL^vw Trotoi /xcva, Kal irpbs

112 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

period. 1 The celebrations in honour of the martyrs
described in the " Oratio ad sanctum ccetum " belong
in all essentials to the period before Constantine.

The commemoration of the departed was celebrated,
at least among the larger Christian communities, in
a building, specially erected for the purpose, close to
the grave itself. 2 Owing to the intense veneration in
which the martyrs were held, their grave was in itself
regarded as a sanctuary and naturally so. The
common sentiment of mankind is to set a high value
on whatever is closely connected with a deeply
venerated personality and forceably recalls his
memory. And so with regard to the departed, and
especially the martyrs, it was their tombs which were
held in honour, because they contained the remains of
the bodies which had suffered torture and death for
the faith. On account of the veneration in which the
bodily remains of the martyrs were held, the Roman
clergy urgently enjoined the duty of burying the
bodies of the martyrs and other Christians. 3 The
faithful frequently sought for articles which had
touched the martyr s body, or had been dipped in
his blood, and preserved them as precious memorials.

1 Cf. especially DE ROSSI, Roma sotterranea, II. pp. 488-507.

2 KlRSCH, Die christlichen Cullusbegiiude im Altertum.
Cologne 1893, pp. 19 et seqq. : Die Ccevieterialkirchen in der
vorconstantinischen Zeit.

3 Epistula VIII. inter Cypr. 3 (ed. H ARTEL, II. p. 488) : Et
quod maximum est, corpora martyrum aut ceterorum si non
sepeliantur, grande periculum imminet eis quibus incumbit hoc
opus. Cujuscumque ergo vestrum quacumque occasione fuerit
effectual hoc opus, certi sumus eum bonum servum sestimari,
ut qui in minirno fidelis fuit constituatur super decem civitates.

IN THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 113

When Cyprian was led into the praetorium to be con
demned, and was sitting in a room therein, a soldier,
formerly a Christian, asked the bishop to change
his clothes, because all his garments were saturated
with sweat. The author of the life interprets this to
mean that the soldier desired to possess himself
of the sweat, already bloody on account of the
approaching martyrdom a proof of the spread of
veneration for relics of the martyrs. 1 Saturus, one
of the companions of SS. Perpetua and Felicitas,
asked a soldier Pudens to give him a ring which he
wore on his finger, dipped it in his bleeding wound,
and gave it back to Pudens " as a pledge and
memorial of his blood." 2 The desire of the faithful to
possess some memorial of a martyr is illustrated in
the acts of St. Fructuosus and his companions. St.
Fructuosus ended his life on the pyre, and some
Christians had taken part of his ashes to preserve
them a treasured memorial of the holy martyr. But
Fructuosus appeared to them and warned them to

1 Vita Cypriani, i6(HARTEL, III. p. cviii.) : Cum (Cyprianus)
post iter longum nimio sudore madidatus sedcret .
quidam ex tesserariis quondam Christianas res suas obtulit,
quasi vellet ille vestimentis suis humidis sicciora mutare ;
videlicet nihil aliud in rebus oblatis ambiebat, quam ut pro-
ficientis ad Deum martyris sudores jam sanguineos possideret.
Cui ille respondit et dixit : Medellas adhibemus querelis, quae
hodie fortisan non erunt.

2 Passio ss. PerpetucB et Felicitatis, 21 (ed. Pio FRANCHI DE J
CAVALIERI, p. 146) : Saturus . . . Pudenti militi inquit :
Vale, inquit, memor fidei et mei, et hcec te non conturbant, sed
conformant, simulque ansulam de digito ejus petiit, et vulneri
suo mersam reddidit ei hereditatem, pignus relinquens illi et
memoriam sanguinis.

114 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

take them back, and to bury all the remains of his
body without delay in one place. 1 We have here an
instance of what long remained the custom in the
West, i.e., that all the parts of the martyred body
must be buried together after the martyr s death,
and no part, however small, must be separated from
the body as a relic. These examples from the third
century disclose the beginning of that veneration for
relics which had later so deep an influence on the
religious life of the faithful.

A proof of the confidence which the faithful placed
in the intercession of the martyrs is given first of all
by the practice of invoking them on behalf of the
departed whose souls were commended to them. At
the same time, this practice throws light on the belief
of Christians touching the condition of souls in the
world to come, for obviously they must have been
convinced of the possibility of souls having know
ledge of one another in the future life, else were it
inconceivable that the martyrs in heaven could entreat
God for the souls of the departed commended to
them by the faithful. This commendation of departed
souls to the martyrs is to be found in the monuments

1 Acta ss. Fructuosi, Augurii et Eulogii (RuiNART, p. 267 :
. . . Igitur post passionem apparuit (Fructuosus) fratribus,
et monuit, ut quod unusquisque per caritatem de cineribus
usurpaverat, restituerent sine mora, uno quoque in loco simul
condendos curarent. We may here mention that Lucilla of
Carthage, who used to kiss the bone of a martyr not officially
recognised before she communicated, when reproved for it by
the bishop, was incensed against him and became a ringleader
of the Donatists.

IN THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 115

of the Roman catacombs. 1 In two Roman inscrip
tions of the third century, the departed is com
mended in general terms to " the spirits of the saints."
Upon that placed over the grave of a boy two years
old called Paul, we read : " In pacem te suscipian(t)
omnium ispirita sanctorum." 2

The other most probably runs as follows : " Leo-
pardum in pacem cum spirita sancta, acceptum cum
habeatis innocentem." 3

The idea is that the " saints " in the other world
and in the third century these were principally the
apostles and martyrs could receive among them the
souls of the departed, i.e. t could commend them to
God, so that He admitted them into His heavenly
kingdom. It was especially the martyrs who reposed
in the same cemetery which contained the grave
of the departed who were invoked to protect his
soul. There are three epitaphs found in the
catacomb of Hermes on the Via Salaria vetus
in which the departed is commended to the holy
martyr Basilla, who is buried there. One runs as
follows : 4

Somno heternali.

Aurelius Gemellus qui bixit an ...

1 Cf, KlRSCH, Die Acdamalionen und Gebete der altchristlichen
Grabschriften, pp. 37 et seqq.

2 DE Rossi, Bitllettino di arch, crist. 1875, P- J 9-

3 FABRETTI, Inscriptiones domesticce, p. 574, No. Ixi. The
original is in the Lateran museum, cl. IX. No. 32. For the
restoration of the very faulty text, Cf. Kirsch op. cit. p. 39.

4 FERRET, Catacombes, V. pi. xxix. 71 ; DE Rossi, Bullettino,
1875, P- 29. The original is in the Lateran museum, cl. VIII,
No, 16.

116 THE COMMUNION" OF SAINTS

et menses VIII. dies XVI 1 1. ; mater filio
carissimo benaemerenti fecit in pa(ce) ;
conmando, Basila, innocentia(m) Gemelli.

Aurelius Gemellus died as a boy in the age of
innocence, and so his mother commended " the
innocence of Gemellus" to St. Basilla.

The other, also from a child s grave, is as follows : 1

Domiiia Basilla, corn-
mandamus tibi, Cres-
centinus et Micina,
filia(m) nostra(m) Crescen . . .
que vixit men(ses) X. et d(i)es . . .

The parents, Crescentinus and Micina, commend
their little daughter Crescen(tina) to St. Basilla.

Both inscriptions belong to the third century.
From the fourth century we have some closely
resembling them in which Basilla, the martyrs
Januarius, Agapitus, and Felicissimas, St. Hippolytus
and St. Lawrence are besought to refresh the departed
souls or to receive them into bliss.

Similar inscriptions of the fourth century have come
down to us from other localities. 2 We can prove
accordingly the beginning of this practice in the third
century, and it survived among Christian people in
the succeeding period.

A number of paintings in the Roman catacombs
from the end of the third century and the beginning
of the fourth owe their origin to the same idea. In
them we behold the introduction of a departed soul

1 JACUTIUS, De Bonoste et Mennes titulo, p. 51. The original
is also preserved in the Lateran museum, cl. VIII. No. 17.

2 Cf. KlRSCH, op. at., pp. 39 et seqq., pp. 42-46.

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH 117

into the heavenly kingdom. They can be divided
into two groups. In one, we usually see the soul
of the departed standing as an " orans " on a flowery
meadow between two trees, a saint on either hand,
frequently St. Peter and St. Paul, who stretch out
their hands in blessing towards the " orans " to take
him under their protection. 1 In the other group, the
departed is equally represented as an "orans," but
the introduction into heaven is differently indicated.
For instance, in a painting in the catacomb of
Domitilla belonging to the fourth century, Petronilla
lays her right arm on the shoulder of the departed
Veneranda, and with her left hand points to the
roll of the holy scriptures in a chest on the ground. 2
In this connection it is well to recall the representa
tion of the judgment referred to above, in which
the apostles and other saints appear as advocates
(advocati, defensores) of departed souls.

There was all the more reason why the faithful
should invoke the martyrs on behalf of the departed
since in the third century we often find it stated in
the religious literature of the West that both the
martyrs and apostles will not be judged at the final
judgment, but will appear with Christ as judges.
Thus Hippolytus exhorts Christians who were dragged
before the law-courts for the Lord s name to pray

1 See the examples in GARRUCCI, Storia delFarte cristiana,
II. plate 53, 2 ; 55, 2, on the left above ; 59, i.

54 DE ROSSI, Bullettino di arch, crist. 1875, plate I. I do not
delay over these monuments since they are dealt with as a whole
in the work of C. M. KAUFMANN, Die sepulcralen Jenseits-
dcnkmdler der Antike und des Urchristenthums, Mainz.
Kirchheim, 1900.

118 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

God that they may depart this life as martyrs, for
then they shall not be judged but shall judge, since
they have part in the first resurrection. 1 The same
belief appears in Origen and Cyprian. The former,
in his " Exhortation to Martyrdom," interprets certain
passages of scripture to mean that whoever has drunk
Christ s chalice shall be enthroned and reign and judge
along with the King of Kings. 2 St. Cyprian tells the
confessors languishing in prison, when exhorting them
to stand fast, that they shall rule and reign with Christ
the Lord, applying to the martyrs the words of holy
scripture (Wisd. III., 4-8): " et si coram hominibus
tormenta passi sunt, spes eorum immortalitate plena
est . . . judicabunt nationes et dominabuntur
populis et regnabit Dominus eorum in perpetuum." 3
And in order to urge the confessors to proceed with
wisdom and caution in recommending the reconcilia
tion of the lapsed, he reminds them that they are the
Lord s friends, and will later on judge with Him. 4

1 HIPPOLYTUS, Commentary on Daniel, II. 37 (ed. BON-

WETSCH, I. pp. 112 et sey.)\ . . . oxrre e#x&r0w o VvfKfv rou
6i&gt;6//,aros Trpo(r&lt;f)ep6[J.vos oi y dr/Trore rpbirq /uaprupTjcras eeA#e?i . euros yap
OVK^TI ovde Kpiverai dXXa, Kpivet, fjitpos idiov ev ry TrpibTrj d^acrrdcrei e ? x a " /&gt;

2 ORIG. Exhortation to Martyrdom, 28.

3 CYPRIAN, ep. VI. (ed. HARTEL, II. 481).

4 CYPRIAN, Epistula^M. 3 (ed. cit. II. 515): Cyprianus
martyribus et confessoribus carissimis fratribus S . . . Et
quoniam audio, fortissimi et carissirni fratres, impudentia vos
quorundam premi et verecundiam vestram vim pati, oro vos
quibus possum precibus ut evangelii memores et considerantes
quae et qualia in przeteritum antecessores vestri martyres con-
cesserint, quam solliciti in omnibus fuerint, vos quoque sollicite
et caute petentium desideria ponderetis, utpote amici Domini
et cum illo postmoduni judicaturi inspiciatis et actum et opei a

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 119

This idea throws fresh light upon the relation of the
martyrs to the other believers. It must have tended
to greatly increase the veneration shown to the
martyrs, and to deepen confidence in their protection,
when a direct influence was conceded to them in
regard to the final admission of members of the Church
to the heavenly kingdom at the end of the world.
The influence of such an opinion was all the stronger
because frequently, as we see from St. Cyprian s
writings, the end of the world was considered to be
close at hand. 1 The appearance of such representa
tions of the judgment as we had mentioned above
among the paintings in the catacombs fits in well with
this conception.

And so in the third century we find all the essential
parts of the veneration for martyrs who witness to
the faith by their death. The fathers of the Church
and the faithful laity regarded them as the perfect
followers of the Lord and elect friends of God, who
attained at once to a special degree of glory in
heaven. They were credited after death with the
power of protecting by their intercessions with God
Christians both living and departed, of obtaining by
their recommendation, while still undergoing sufferings,
the reconciliation of notorious sinners, their merits
before God being reckoned as compensation for the

et merita singulorum, ipsorum quoque delictorum genera et
qualitates cogitetis, ne si quid abrupte et indigne vel a vobis
promissum vel a nobis factum fuerit, apud gentiles quoque
ipsos ecclesia nostra erubescere incipiat.

1 Cf. CYPRIAN, ad Fortunatum, \ (ed. HARTEL, I. 317);
epist. LVIII. i (ed. cit. II. 656) ; epist. LIX. 13 (ibid. 682) ; 18
(ibid. 689) ; cpist. LXVII. 7-8 (ibid. 740-

120 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

sinner s penance, y Their protection was sought and
they were invoked to intercede with God on behalf
both of the faithful on earth and the faithful departed.
Their memory was held in honour, their tombs and
whatever recalled their glorious death were objects of
veneration. The Church celebrates in a special manner
the annual remembrance of their death by a liturgical
celebration, the " memoriae martyrum." All these
elements combine to form the essence of the worship
of the martyrs, which received a still greater impulse
in the fourth century.^

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 121

CHAPTER IV

PRAYERS FOR THE DEAD IN THE THIRD CENTURY.

THE belief that the faithful on earth could obtain
help from God by their prayers for the departed both
immediately after death and even subsequently, finds
manifold expression in the period between the end
of the second century and the beginning of the fourth.
It is naturally closely connected with the views held
concerning the state of the departed in the future life.
In all prominent writers of the period who touch upon
the question, and in several of the acts of the martyrs,
we find it taught that there is a future purification of
the sin-stained soul, although the way in which it is
effected, and in what it actually consists, where it
begins and ends, are differently regarded according
to the views held by each father on eschatological
questions as a whole. This doctrine has all the
greater claim to Catholicity, since the writers who
give expression to it belong to different parts of
the Church. In Rome, we have Hippolytus, whose
opinion that Hades is the abode of both the just
and unjust, the two classes of souls being, however, in
very different states of existence, still bears as a
whole upon the point in question. 1 The doctrine of
purgatorial fire appears fully developed, on the other
hand, in the Alexandrian and African writers, as well

1 ATZBERGER, ChristL Eschatologie, pp. 275 ct seqq.

122 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

as in the acts of SS. Perpetua and Felicitas belonging
to the beginning of the third century. 1 Belief, too,
in the eternal punishment of the lost found its
support in the teaching of our Lord and His apostles,
from which Christians endeavoured to escape by
being true to their faith and living a virtuous Christian
life. We also frequently meet with the view that the
glory of heaven admits of various degrees, so that
souls will share more or less completely in its
blessedness. Some Fathers, such as Irenaeus and
Tertullian, and probably also Hippolytus, hold
chiliastic views. For instance, Irenaeus teaches ex
pressly that Christ will return to reign for a thousand
years on the earth, and Tertullian speaks in several
passages of the " prima resurrectio," in which the elect
will have part. 2 Again, in Origen s opinion, the evil
spirits attack souls as they leave the body. Yet
departed souls may be protected and helped in many
ways by God s merciful intervention. It was the
object of prayers for the dead to obtain this assistance
from the Lord even when it is not stated in so many
words. The mere fact that people prayed for the
dead necessarily implies they were convinced such
prayers were of assistance to the departed. These
views which we have briefly described concerning the

1 ATZBERGER, op. cit. pp. 307 et seq. (Tertullian) ; pp. 358
et segq. Clement of Alexandria) ; pp. 402 et seqq. (Origen) ;
pp. 536 et seq. (Cyprian). For the whole question, Cf. BAUTZ,
Das Fegfeuer (1883).

2 ATZBERGER, op. cit. pp. 256 et seqq. (Irenaeus); pp. 309
et seq. (Tertullian). Concerning the "prima resurrectio" in
which only the perfect have part, cf. ORIGEN, injeremiam horn.
II. 3 (ed. MIGNE), P. G. XIII. 230 et seq.

IN THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 123

future life and the condition of souls after death, give
us a general idea of what was in the mind of the
faithful in offering up intercessions to God for the
dead, or, as we have said above, in commending them
to the martyrs.

In a passage very difficult of interpretation, Clement
of Alexandria speaks of the relation between the
perfect gnostic Christian, and those who are under
going discipline after death. He states that the
gnostic despises what the world offers as beautiful, he
sympathises with those who after death suffer chastise
ment, and so by suffering unwillingly acknowledge
their sin. he lives with a good conscience, ready to
depart from the world since he is a stranger to all
the world offers. 1 The whole idea seems bound up
with the belief in the purification of the souls, with
whom the gnostic Christian sympathises, from the
stains of sin in the future life. How he manifests
this sympathy is not explained by Clement, though
he seems by it to maintain the relation between
perfect believers on earth and suffering souls in the
world to come.

Tertullian is the first writer who furnishes us with
particulars concerning prayers for the dead. From
him we learn that a priest offered up prayers between
the death and burial of a Christian. He tells us, for
instance, how a dead woman raised her arms during

1 CLEMEN ALEX., Stromata, XII. 78 (ed. DINDORF, III. 319) :

Offros irepiffTTu/jLevos virb TTJS tSias \iridos ov "yetfercu TU&gt;V v
KofffJ-if KO.\UV, irdvTb)i&gt; rCjv ivravda KaTa/neya\o&lt;j&gt;povu)t&gt;, oiKT^ipuv TOI)S
fiera Qo.vo.rov ircukvoft/tvovi dia r^s KoAdcrews axovcritos tfcofwXoyovftfirovti

fVffVV^lSrjTOS 7T/)6s TT7? ?o8oi/ KO.I CtCl ^TOt/WOS (jJV , WS &V TTapTrldT]/U.OS KO.I

eVos roil T7/5e K\r]povofj.T)/j.a.Tuv.

124 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

these prayers, and replaced them in their former posi
tion after the prayer for peace was concluded. 1 The
manner in which he alludes to the priests prayers
shows that he is speaking of the usual practice, We
find the priest at the conclusion prayed for peace, for
" condita pace " signifies " after the conclusion of the
prayer for peace," which agrees with what we have
already said (p. 40) concerning the ejaculation " Pax
tecum." As the circumstances imply, it was a prayer
for the welfare of the departed soul in the future state.
We may assume from what we know of ancient
liturgical practices that the Christians present at the
burial took part in these prayers.

Moreover, the eucharistic sacrifice was offered for
the dead at the burial, and, as a rule, on its anniver
sary. Evidence for this practice is found in Tertullian
and Cyprian. A comparison of the passages in both
writers shows that the " oblationes pro defunctis " in
Tertullian (see below, p. 128) can mean nothing else
than the eucharistic sacrifice. For Cyprian plainly
alludes to the practice mentioned by Tertullian,
when he informs us that his predecessors in the
see of Carthage had decreed that if a believer had
appointed a cleric as executor of his will, or as
guardian, no offering must be made for him and the
" sacrificium pro dormitione ejus " must not be offered

1 TERTULLIAN, De anima, LI. (ed. OEHLER, II. 637); Scio
feminam quandam vernaculam ecclesiae, forma et aetate Integra
functam, post unicuni et breve matrimonium cum in pace
dormisset et morante adhuc sepultura interim oratione
presbyteri componeretur, ad primum halitum orationis manus
a lateribus dimotas in habitum supplicem conformasse rur-
sumque condita pace situi suo redidisse.

IN THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 125

for him. 1 That the reference can only be to the
eucharistic sacrifice is clear from the terms used by
St. Cyprian in drawing up this decree. Whoever calls
away priests and ministers from the altar deserves not
to have his name mentioned in the prayer of the
priest (or bishop) at the altar. The same thing
follows, moreover, from Cyprian s remarks in speak
ing of the oblations and prayers which were to
be offered by the faithful in the congregation (or
church) for the Christians in question. All this can
only refer to the eucharist, and since the decree had
been promulgated by Cyprian s predecessors, who
lived in the period between Cyprian and Tertullian,
we must understand the " oblationes pro defunctis "
mentioned by the latter as referring to the same
practices which Cyprian speaks of. 2

It is important to observe the connection in which
Tertullian speaks of these oblations. His object is to

1 CYPRIANUS, Epistula, I. 2 (ed. HARTEL, II. p. 466) : Quod
episcopi antecessores nostri religiose considerantes et salubriter
providentes censuerunt ne quis frater excedens ad tutelam vel
curam clericum nominaret, ac si quis hoc fecisset, non offeretur
pro eo nee sacrificium pro dormitione ejus celebraretur. Neque
enim apud altare Dei meretur nominari in sacerdotum prece
qui ab altari sacerdotes et ministros voluit avocari. Et ideo
Victor cum contra formam nuper in concilio a sacerdotibus
datam Geminium Faustinum presbyterum ansus est tutorem
constituere, non est quod pro dormitione ejus apud vos fiat
oblatio aut deprecatio aliqua nomine ejus in ecclesia frequentetur,
ut sacerdotum dccretum religiose et necessarie factum servetur
a nobis, simul et ceteris fratribus detur exemplum, ne quis sacer
dotes et ministros Dei altari ejus et ecclesiae vacantes ad s;ecu-
larem molestiam devocet.

2 Cf. PROBST, Kirchliche Disdpliti in den ersten drei Jahr-
hunderten, pp. 301-303.

126 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

give examples to show that not everything which has
been observed in the Church from early days requires
to be supported by written authorities, but that
ancient tradition is of itself a sufficient sanction for
ecclesiastical practice. Among these examples he
quotes the oblations for the dead on the annual
recurrence of their " birthday," i.e., to eternal life. 1
This obviously points to the conclusion that this
practice was in existence in the middle of the second
century, and was not limited to Carthage and North
Africa. For it is difficult to conceive that a Christian
practice which Tertullian quotes in justification of
ecclesiastical tradition did not exist in other churches
in the Church of Rome especially, whence probably
Christianity came to Africa. Since in the East
during the fourth century we also find references
to the offering of the sacrifice on the anniversaries
of deceased Christians, without any mention of the
introduction of the practice in this period, we may
safely conclude that the practice was followed in the
period before Constantine.

1 TERTULLIAN, De corona, III. (ed. OKHLER, I. 420,422):
Hanc si nulla scriptura determinavit, certe consuetudo corrobo-
ravit, quse sine dubio de traditione manavit. Quomodo enim
usurpari quid potest, si traditum prius non est ? Etiam in
traditionis obtentu exigenda est, inquis, auctoritas scripta.
Ergo quseramus an et traditio nisi scripta non debeat recipi.
Plane negabimus recipiendam, si nulla exempla prasjudicent
aliarum observationum, quas sine illius scripture instrumento
solius traditionis titulo et exinde consuetudinis patrocinio vin-
dicamus. . . . Oblationes pro defunctis pro nataliciis annua
die facimus. In two other passages, Tertullian alludes to the
custom "annuis diebus dormitionis offerre," i.e., De monogamia
10, and De exfartatione castitatis, 1 1 (see below}.

IN THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 127

From another point of view, the expressions used by
St. Cyprian in the passages quoted above are worthy
of notice. It appears that the name of the departed
was mentioned in the prayer of the sacrificing priest
or bishop at the eucharist, and that prayers in his name
were offered up by all in the assembly of the faithful.
From this we learn in what sense the oblation was
offered for the dead he was remembered especially
by name in the prayers. There can be no doubt that
these prayers were such as suited the occasion,
and were offered up for the welfare of the departed
souls in the future state, in conformity with the views
described at the beginning of this chapter.

The relatives of the deceased, without doubt, took
part in the prayers of the priest at the funeral, and
in the eucharistic celebrations which accompanied it
and were repeated on its anniversary. But they
prayed also in private for the peace and welfare of the
departed. This is plainly indicated by Tertullian
when, in his desire to hinder widows and widowers
from marrying again, he shows them how they must
present offerings for two wives or husbands on the
anniversary of the death, i.e., participate in the
eucharistic celebration, and pray for the souls of the
departed. The terms used in this passage to denote
intercessions are important in showing the sense in
which these prayers were made. In one place,
Tertullian writes that the wife " prays for the soul of
the departed, imploring refreshment for him, and a
place in the first resurrection." l " Refreshment "

1 TERTULLIAN, De monogamia, X. (ed. OEHLER, I. p. 776) :
Ipsam denique interrogo feminam : Die mihi, soror, in pace pne-

128 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

(refrigerium), a term often employed to denote eternal
blessedness, is taken from the figure of a meal, by
which the joys of heaven are frequently symbolized.
It is implied that in all probability the departed does
not yet partake of the heavenly banquet, but suffers
symbolically hunger and thirst (cf. below St.
Perpetua s vision). Accordingly, prayer was made to
God for the cessation of this state of suffering and the
admission of the soul to the joys of heaven. The
prayer for a share in the first resurrection is connected
with the view held by Tertullian and Origen that the
saints will rise first, and the others only later (cf. above,
p. 124). The widow who prays for her husband is
persuaded that by her prayers she can assist the de
parted in obtaining from God the grace to partake in
the first resurrection. Tertullian reminds the widower
who intends to marry a second wife that he prays for
his dead wife, that he will appear before the Lord with
as many wives as he commemorates (commemorare)
in his prayer, and that he offers for two, and commends
(commemorare) them both by means of the priest. 1

misisti virum tuum ? Quid respondebit ? An in discordia ? Ergo
hoc magis ei vincta est cum quo habet apud Deum causam. Non
discessit quae tenetur. Sed in pace ? Ergo perseveret in ea cum
illo necesse est quem jam repudiare non poterit, ne sic quidem
nuptura, si repudiare potuisset. Enimvero et pro aniina ejus
orat, et refrigerium interim adpostulat ei, et in prima resur
rectione consortium, et offert annuls diebus dormitionis ejus.
Nam hsec nisi fecerit, vere repudiavit, quantum in ipsa est, et
quidem hoc iniquius, quanto quomodo potuit, quia non potuit,
et hoc indignius, quanto jam indignius, si quia non meruit.
Cap. XI. (ibid. p. 778) : Et orabis pro maritis tuis, novo et
vetere. Elige cui te adulteram prasstes. Puto ambobus.
1 TERTULLIAN, De exhortatione castitatis^ XI. (ed. OEHLER,

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 129

All these expressions point to prayers offered up to
God for the welfare of the dead, and leave no doubt
that such prayers were in use among the faithful both
at the celebration of the liturgy and in their private
devotions. Further evidence to the same effect is
given by the inscriptions of the third century.

The well known episode in the acts of SS.
Perpetua and Felicitas, in which Perpetua relates
a vision illustrating in a striking manner Tertullian s
words, shows what was the popular belief in North
Africa. 1

St. Perpetua had a brother called Dinocrates, who
was seven years old when he died of a cancer in
the face, which filled everyone with horror who
beheld it. Now it happened that a few days after
their condemnation, as she was praying in company
with the holy confessors, she mentioned the name
of Dinocrates aloud without his having been in
her thoughts. She took this as a sign that she
ought to pray for him, which she did with many
sighs. The following night she had a vision. She

I. p. 753) : Duplex enim rubor est, quia in secundo matrimonio
duse uxores euridem circumstant maritum, una spiritu, alia in
carne. Neque enim pristinam poteris odisse, cui etiam re-
ligiosiorem reservas affectionem, ut jam receptas apud dominum,
pro cujus spiritu postulas, pro qua oblationes annuas reddis.
Stabis ergo ad dominum cum tot uxoribus, quot in oratione
commemoras, et offeres pro duabus, et commemorabis illas
duas per sacerdotem de monogamia ordinatum aut etiam de
virginitate sancitum, circumdatum viduis univiris ? Et ascendet
sacriftcium tuum libera fronte, et inter cetera bonas mentis
postulabis tibi et uxori castitatem ?

1 Cf. PROBST, Lehre und Gebet in den drei ersten christl.
JaJirhunderten, p. 335.

130 THE COMMUNION- OF SAINTS

saw Dinocrates emerging from a dark place where
were many others. He seemed to suffer much from
heat and thirst, and looked pale and sickly, and
he had still the wound in his face from which he
had died. She prayed for him, but, as there was
a great space separating him from her, they could
not get to one another. Close by him was a large
urn full of water, the brim so high above his head
that he tried in vain to reach up to drink out
of it. This distressed Perpetua, and she awoke with
the conviction that her brother was in pain, yet
felt full confidence that God would hear the fervent
prayers which she daily offered up for her brother s
soul. Night and day she prayed for him with tears.

One day as they sat in the stocks she saw again
the same place which she had seen so gloomy now
full of light, and in it she saw Dinocrates looking
healthy, well clad and happy. Where the wound
had been there was only a scar The brim of the
urn now came only to the boy s waist, and on
it stood a drinking cup from which he drank without
the water being exhausted. He turned away to
amuse himself like a child, and Perpetua knew he
was delivered from punishment. 1 This vision plainly
shows that the faithful on earth were fully convinced
that they could assist with their prayers such souls
as were being purified by suffering in the future
state.

The same belief prompted the numerous epitaphs
which express prayers and wishes for the happiness

1 Passio ss. Perpetual et Felicitatis, VII. -VIII. (ed. PiO
FRANCHI DE CAVALIERI, pp. 118 et segg.).

IN THE ANCIENT CHUBCH. 131

of departed souls in the world to come. 1 We find,
first of all, on some monuments an exhortation to
the faithful to remember in their prayers him who
rests beneath the stone, such as in the very early
epitaph of Agape (see above, p. 41). Such is the
conclusion of the epitaph of Abercios which has
given rise to so much discussion in recent years, of
the Christian character of which I have no doubt :

m f*/\i &gt; -&gt;/ /i /v * * &gt; A /D r ^ &lt; c&gt; 2

lavu o voaov eugaiu virep ApepKtov Tra? o

(May he who agrees with me and understands this, pray
for Abercios.)

An inscription, unfortunately fragmentary, from
the catacomb of St. Priscilla, almost contemporary
with Tertullian, concludes with the wish that the
faithful should pray that the departed may live
for ever : " . . . petatis . . . (aetern)um ut
vivat in aevum." 3

To the end of the third century, or to the begin
ning of the fourth, belongs the following epitaph
from one of the Roman catacombs, which is important
because in it the husband expressly states his reason
for setting up the inscription, z&gt;., that his fellow-
Christians may be moved to pray for the departed,
It runs as follows :

1 As I have dealt at length with this point in my pamphlet,
Die Acclamationen tend Gebete der altchristlichen Grabschriften
(Cologne, 1897), a few general remarks may be sufficient
here.

2 Cf. KAUFMANN, Die sepulcralen Jenscitsdenkmdler (Mainz,
1900), pp. 78 et seqq., where references will be found to the
latest literature on the subject.

3 DE ROSSI, Bullettino di arch, christ. 1886, pp. 52 et seq.

132 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

D. P.

Lucifere conjugi dulcissime omnem
dulcitudinem, cum luctu maximo
marito reliquisset, meruit titulum
inscribi ut quisque de fratribus legeret, roget Deu(m)
ut sancto et innocent! spirito ad Deum suscipiatur.

Above, at the edge, is the age of the departed :
Que vixit annos XXII., mes. n. IV., dies VI. 1

The ejaculations and prayers in the epitaphs of
the third century show us what was the object of
the faithful in praying for the dead, and what were
the benefits they desired for them. First and fore
most it was peace for the departed that they implored
in various terms. One inscription which reminds
us of the " condita pace " in Tertullian (see above, p.
126) from San Callisto runs :

In pace spiritus Silvani. Amen. 2

A similar inscription is in the Lateran Museum
(cl. IX., 28) : ^fAoujueV//, ev eipyvfl crov TO Trvev/ma.

Somewhat fuller is the conclusion of an epitaph,
restored by de Rossi :

(Det illis au)tem Deus et Dominus (Jesus \|/ pace)m
aeternalem. 3

1 DE Rossi, Bullettino, 1877, p. 31 ; WILPERT, Cyclus
christologischer Gemcilde, plate IX. 7, p. 50. The original is in
the Lateran museum, cl. IX. No. 10. The text is to be read
as follows : Depositio. Luciferse conjugi dulcissimas omnem
dulcitudinem ; cum luctum maximum marito reliquisset, meruit
titulum inscribi, ut quisque de fratribus legerit, roget Deum ut
sanctus et innocens spiritus ad Deum suscipiatur. Quoe vixit
annos XXII. meuses numero IV. dies VI.

2 DE Rossi, Roma sotterranea, II. plate xlix. 6.

3 DE Rossi, Bullettino, 1892, p. 150.

IN THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 133

After the end of the second century we find the
wish and prayer for the refreshment (refrigerium)
of the departed soul, e.g., in the following text :

Parentes . . . Paulinoe filLx dulcissimae, cujus spiritum
in refrigerium suscipiat Dominus. 1

Another runs in the same way :

Kalemere, Deus refrigeret spiritum tuum una cum sororis
tuae Hilare. 2

That these wishes are to be regarded as actual
prayers appears from the following fragment in which
the petition is addressed to God : " Refrigera, Deus,
animan Horn. . . . " 3

In the same way other inscriptions express the
wish that the souls of the departed may be received
by God, may live in God or in Christ, may rest
in peace or in God, may be in felicity (bonum). 4

Two more interesting inscriptions may serve as the
conclusion to this chapter. One of them remains in
its original position in the burial place of the Acilii
in the catacomb of St. Priscilla, and runs as follows :

O Trarrjp TU&gt;V TTGLVTCDV, ov&lt;? eTTtw/cn/s 1 KCU 7ra/oeXa/3j;9
, 7*ot]v Kal Ma/o/ce AAoiA Ao ^a croi eV

To make the sense complete, the second verb must

1 Ibid. 1886, pp. 129 et seq.

2 FERRET, Catacombes de Rome, V. xliii. i.

3 In the Lateran museum, cl. IX. No. 14 ; Lupt, Epitaphum
Severas martyris, p. 168.

4 Cf. the numerous examples in Kirsch, Die Acclamationen,
pp. 17 et seqq. I do not enter upon a discussion of the
eschatalogical significance of these formulas. The texts in
KAUFMANN, Die sepulcralen Jenseitsdenkmiiler, pp. 41 et seqq.
well repay study from this point of view.

134 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

be repeated, and then the text runs : O Father of
all, receive Irene, Zoe and Marcellus, whom thou hast
created and called to Thyself ; or 7rape\a/3^g must be
taken as a petition and then translated : O Father
of all, take to Thyself Irene, Zoe and Marcellus, for
they are Thy creatures. To Thee be glory in Christ. 1
The second text comes from Gaul. It is the poem
on the tomb at Antum in which Pectorios prays as
follows :

arcorep.
evSoi ju.(r})Tip, ere Afrafo/xe, &lt;/&gt;eo? TO QCHVOVTWV.

Satisfy me now, I beg, with the Ichthys (the re
cognised symbol of the Redeemer, especially with
reference to the Eucharist) my Lord and Saviour.
Let the mother, I implore Thee, softly sleep, Light
of the dead. 2

And so the monuments of different localities, of
Asia Minor, of Rome, and of Gaul, fill out and explain
the brief phrases which we find in the African writers.
The conclusion is certain during the third century
prayers for the dead, by which the faithful were con
vinced they could obtain from God benefits for the
departed, formed part of the religious practices used
both publicly and privately throughout the whole
Church. The most solemn of these prayers was the

1 DE Rossi, Bullettino, 1888-9, PP- 3 et se&lt; W-; WILPERT,
Fractio panis, p. 51.

2 It is in this way that POHL has restored the text ; Das
Ichthysmonument von Autum, 1880. LE BLANT, Inscriptions
chretienms de la Gaule, I. p. 8, n. 4, reads for the first of the two
lines : IxW xdptfov f*. 8.pa XiXafw. . . . Ichthus grant me the
grace for which I humbly beg.

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 135

commendation of the departed soul at the Eucharistic
sacrifice. Although we possess direct evidence for
the offering of the eucharist at the burial, and on
the anniversary of the dead for Africa alone, still the
way in which this practice is alluded to points to the
conclusion that this religious practice was observed
in other parts of the Church as well.

136 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

CHAPTER V.

THE RELATION OF THE FAITHFUL TO THE HOLY
ANGELS.

SPECULATIONS concerning the spirit world occupied
a prominent position in the Christian literature from
the beginning of the third century, and especially in
the writings of Origen in consequence of his peculiar
views regarding spirits and human souls. In some
particulars the views of the different teachers differ
widely from one another, while in others we find a
complete agreement, The latter is the case when it
is a question of the relation of the holy angels to the
members of the Church, and of the protection and
assistance which they afford to Christians in the
performance of their duties and in the attainment of
eternal salvation. In the writings of Irenaeus and
Hippolytus which survive, the question of the guardian
angels is nowhere specially dealt with. Irenseus, it
is true, refers incidentally in several passages to the
nature of the angels and kindred subjects, but chiefly
in opposing gnostic conceptions of the world of aeons.
This Father attributes to the devil actual power over
men in consequence of the sin of our first parents in
Paradise. Satan, however, was once more put in
bonds by Christ, and so the faithful have gained

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 137

power to escape from his. violence. 1 No reference is
made to the part played by the holy angels in this
warfare. One might almost gather from one passage
that Irenseus denies all share to the angels, as God s
messengers, in the guidance of the world, for he says
of the Catholic as opposed to gnostics that he does
nothing by invocation of angels. Irenseus, however,
does not professedly exclude all reverence towards
the angels in this passage, as Turmel seems to imply, 2
but only those superstitious invocations of angels
practised by the gnostics for magical purposes, as if
they, by their own power, apart from God, were able
to do anything. Nothing is said against the activity
of the holy angels on behalf of Christians, and the
veneration due to them as superior beings.

Hippolytus recognises indirectly the intercourse
between good angels and the just on earth in his
assumption that when chaste Susanna was being
tempted by the elders, a youth from heaven stood
by her and prayed with her, i.e., an angel sent to
help her. 3 He here maintains the view which we
have already met with in the sub-apostolic period.

1 IREN/EUS, adv. hcereses, II. xxxi. 3 ; III. viii. 2 ; V. xxi. 3 ;
V. xxiv. 3, 4 (ed. STIEREN, I. pp. 403, 449, 776, 783).

2 J. TURMEL, Histoire de Vangelologie, in the Revue d hist.
et de litter, religiettses, III. (1898), p. 550. The passage in
IreRceus, adv. haer. II. xxxii. 5 (ed. cit. I. p. 409) is as follows :
Nee invocationibus angelicis facit aliquid, nee incantationibus,
nee reliqua prava curiositate ; sed munde, et pure et manifeste
orationes dirigens ad Dominum, qui omnia fecit, et nomen
Domini nostri Jesu Christi invocans, virtutes ad utilitates
hominum, sed non ad seductionem perficit.

3 HIPPOLYTUS, Commentary on Daniel, I. 19 and 28 (ed.

BONWETSCH, I. pp. 31, 40).

138 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

Under the influence of Neo-Platonism, the two
Alexandrians, Clement and Origen, gave the widest
development to doctrines concerning the angels,
especially dwelling upon the activity of the spirits as
God s ministers in relation to the whole created
universe. 1 In the providential ordering of the world
there is a double activity, a higher, occupied with
spiritual things, and a lower, having to do with
what is material and inferior. In both ministrations,
according to Clement, the angels of God are employed
in connection with earthly beings. 2 These ministra
tions are primarily concerned with material things,
and Origen plainly gives it as his opinion that the
world has need of the angels who are placed over
animals, plants and elements. 3 Angels also control
the history of every nation. According to Origen,
God divided the different nations among the
angels, reserving Israel to Himself as His own in
heritance. Such is the interpretation given to

1 In order to thoroughly appreciate the influence of Platonism
upon the teaching of the Alexandrians concerning the angels
it would be necessary to make a full investigation of the whole
subject, since their teaching must be considered as a whole.
We cannot go into the whole question here, but must rest
satisfied with discussing their views on the relations between
angels and men.

2 CLEMENS ALEX., Stromata, VII. i. 3 (ed. DINDORF, III. 252
et seqq.}.

3 ORIGENES, in Numeros horn. XIV. 2 (ed. LOMMATZSCH, X.
p. 163) : Opus est tamen ipsi mundo etiam angelis qui sint
super bestias et angelis qui prassint exercitibus terrenis. Opus
est angelis qui praesint animalium nativitati, virgultorum
plantationumque, et ceteris pluralibus incrementis. Cf. In
Josue horn. XXIII. 3 (ed. tit. XI. p. 196) ; in Jerem. horn. X. 8
(ed. cit. XV. pp. 221 et seqq.} ; Contra Celsum, VIII. 57.

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 139

Deut. xxxii. 8-9, according to the Greek text :
" Quando dividebat Altissimus gentes et quando
dispergebat filios Adam, constituit terminos popu-
lorum juxta numerum angelorum Dei ; factusque est
pars Domini populus ejus Jacob, funiculus haere-
ditatis ejus Israel." Following out this view, Origen
finds references in numerous other writers to the
angels as the leaders and guardians of the nations. 1
These " princes " of nations and cities beheld the
miracles wrought by Christ ; by the Saviour s coming
they could have attained to a higher state, and
brought it about that cities and nations more
readily received Christ s teaching. 2 But the power
of these angels was broken by Christ, and they
were moved to anger. 3 In so far as men were
brought into the kingdom of God by the apostles
were they delivered from the power of these angels,
who in return stirred up persecution against the
preachers of the gospel. 4

1 CLEM. ALEX., Stromata, VI. xvii. 157 (ed. DINDORF, III.
241) ; VII. ii. 6 (ed. cit. 255). ORIGENES, De prinipiis, I. v. 2
(ed. Lommatzsch, xxi. p. 93); III. iii. 2 (ibid. p. 324); In
Genesim horn. IX. 3 (ibid. VIII. pp. 212 et seqq.} ; in Exodum
horn. VIII. 2 (ibid. IX. pp. 92 et seqq.) ; in Num. horn. XI. 5
(ibid. X. pp. 115 et seqq.} ; In Jesu Nave horn. XXIII. 3 (ibid.
XI. p. 195) ; in Lucam. horn. XII. (ibid. V. pp. 126 et seq.) ; in
Luc. horn. XXXV. (ibid. V. p. 219) ; Comment, in Joan. torn.
XIII. w(ibid. II. p. 98).

2 ORIGENES, Comm. in Joan. torn. XIII. 58 (ed. cit. II. p.
122).

3 ORIGENES, in Genesim horn. IX. 3 (ed. LOMM. VIII. p. 213).

4 ORIGENES, in Ezechiel. horn. XIII. i (ed. cit. XIV. p. 163) :
Adversum hos principes est nobis pugna. Et beati apostoli,
qui missi fuerant ad pnedicandum, quando ab his, qui fines

140 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

Special angels were then entrusted with the pro
tection and unseen control of separate churches. The
section of the Apocalypse which speaks of the " angels
of the churches " (I I. and III.) was understood literally
by Origen and other teachers of the Church, who
apportioned to each church its own guardian angel. 1
Origen compares the activity of the angels in minister
ing to men to the missionary activity of the apostles.
As a missionary, having by his labours won a number
of souls to Christ, becomes their chief and bishop, so
it is probable the angels are the chiefs of those in
the kingdom of God on earth whom they have con
verted, and each angel presents the first fruits of the
church or nation intrusted to him. 2 Origen " boldly "

gentium possederant, homines abducebant, patiebantur insidias.
Verbi gratia dictum sit : ingressi sunt apostoli Tyrum, perse-
cutus est eos princeps Tyri : adscenderunt Antiochiam, im-
pugnavit eos princeps regni Syriae : iste erat, qni bellabat
adversus eos, non omnes, qui putabantur, ut Judas proditor.
Quomodo enim ille non principaliter putandus est prodidisse
Salvatorern, sic etiam apostolis omnibus, qui persecutionem
passi sunt, alius fuit princeps persecutionis. Scriptum est quippe
de Juda : " et post buccellam introivit in ilium Satanas."

1 ORIGEN ES, in Num. horn. XX. 3 (ed. cit. X. p. 253) : Et
iterum secundum ea quas Joannes in Apocalypsi scribit, uni-
cuique ecclesiae generaliter angelus praeest, qui vel collaudatur
pro bene gestis populi, vel etiam pro delictis ejus culpatur. Cf.
in Lucam horn. XII. (ed. cit. V. p. 128).

2 ORIGENES, in Num. horn. XI. 4 (ed. LOMMATZSCH, X. p.
113): Offert ergo unusquisque angelorum primitias, vel ecclesias,
vel gentis suas, quas ei dispensanda commissa est. Aut forte et
alii extrinsecus angeli, qui ex omnibus gentibus fideles quosque
congregent. Et consideremus, ne forte sicut in aliqua, verbi
gratia, civitate, ubi nondum Christian! nati sunt, si accedat
aliquis, et docere incipiat, laboret, instruat, adducat ad fidem,
et ipse postmodum iis, quos docuit, princeps et episcopus fiat :

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 141

refers to the angels of the churches as their invisible
bishops, and exhorts the faithful to beg God that the
bishops of the churches, both angelic and human, may
redound to their help : both classes of princes being
appointed by the Lord on behalf of the faithful. 1

Individuals are also the object of the protecting
care of the angels. Origen regards it as part of the
tradition of the Church that there are good angels and
powers employed by the Lord in furthering the salva
tion of men, 2 and so gives expression to the universal
belief of the Church in guardian angels. In the
writers of the third century we find numerous
references to the activity of these angels with regard
to individuals. Clement of Alexandria, indeed,
expresses doubt in one passage if each man has his
own guardian angel in the same way as the nations
and cities have their guardian spirits, and as God
employs the ministry of angels for the furtherance of
His universal providence. 3 However, in other

ita etiam sancti angeli eorum, quos e diversis gentibus congre-
gaverint, et labore suo ac ministerio proficere fecerint, ipsi
eorum etiam in future principes fiant.

1 IN LUCAM horn. XIII. (ed. LOMM. V. p. 131) : Si andacter
expedit loqui Scripturarum sensum sequenti, per singulas
ecclesias bini sunt episcopi, alius visibilis, alius invisibilis, ille
visui carnis, hie sensui patens.

2 ORIGENES, De printipiis, I. Prologus, 10 (ed. LOMM. XXI.
pp. 25 et scq.) : Est etiam illud in ecclesiastica prredicatione,
esse angelos Dei quosdam et virtutes bonas qui ei ministrant
ad salutem horrrinum consummandam ; sed quando isti creati
sint vel quales aut quomodo sint, non satis in manifesto
designatur.

3 CLEMENS ALEX. Stromata, VI. xvii. 157 (ed. DINDORF, III.
241).

142 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

passages, he distinctly states that angels assist and
accompany men, pray with them and carry up their
prayers to God. 1 This doctrine, that the good angels
assist Christians in attaining salvation, was developed
by Origen, who often recurs to it in many passages of
his writings. He speaks first of all of the help which
the faithful receive from the celestial spirits : they
regard them as their relations and friends, whose piety
they strive to imitate ; they work with them in
striving after blessedness, appear among them and
consider themselves bound to help and serve them ;
they descend to earth in order to aid the salvation of
those who pray to God, whom they also themselves
adore. 2 Then every believer has his own special
guardian angel to whom we own much, although we
do not know him intimately. 8 It is to this good
angel, who beholds the face of the Father, that the
soul is entrusted when received into the Church by
the laver of regeneration. 4 The believer is thereby
rescued from the power of the devil, 5 by whom he had
been held, and enjoys the protection of the angel as
long as he is worthy of it. Origen considers it

1 CLEM. ALEX., Stromata, V. xiv. 91 (ed. tit. III. 71) ; VII.
xii. 78 (ed. tit. III. 319); IV. xviii. 116 (ed. tit. II. 384);
Excerpta ex Theodoto, 27 (ed. tit. III. 436) ; 35 (e.d. tit. III. 439).

2 ORIGENES, Contra Celsum,V\ll. 34 (ed. KOETSCHAU, II.
249). Cf. On Prayer, u (ed. tit. II. 322 et seg.} ; in Joan. X.
18 (ed. LOMM. I. p. 330) ; contra Celsum,V. 57 (ed. KOETSCHAU,
II. 61) ; de principiis III. v. 6 (ed. LOMM. XXI. p. 352).

3 GRIG., On Prayer, 28 (ed. KOETSCHAU, II. 377).

4 GRIG. Comment, in Matth. torn. XIII. 26, 27 (MlGNE, P. G.
XIII. 1163 et. seqq.\

5 ORIG. in Ezech. horn. I. 7 (ed. LOMM. XIV. pp. 19 et seg.\

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 143

possible that when a Christian, who has once accepted
with zeal the teaching of Christianity, falls back again
into the snare of the world, he is deprived of his
former guardian angel and comes under the power of
another angel. 1

The assistance given by the guardian angels to
those entrusted to them is represented in various
ways. The angels pray with the Christians, aid by
their intercessions the prayers of men, and help them
to obtain what they have prayed to God for. 2 They
present the prayers of the faithful before God ; 3 they
search the hearts of Christians in order to lay their
pious thoughts and desires as a sacrifice on the
heavenly altar; they rejoice at the progress made
by those over whom they have charge. 4 Again, the
angels warn and exhort those committed to their care,
correct them in their failings, pray for them before
the throne of God,^ and strive to prevent their relapse

1 ORIG. on Prayer, 6 (ed. tit. II. 314) 31 (ed. cit. p. 399) ; cf.
de principiis, II. x. 7 (ed. LOMM. XXI. p. 240).

2 ORIG. on Prayer, n (ed. cit. II. 324).

3 CLEM. ALEX., Excerpta ex Theodoto, 27 (ed. DINDORF, III.
436).

4 ORIGENES, horn. IX. in Leviticum, 8 (MiGNE, P. G. XII.
520) : Angeli enim Dei asccndunt et descendunt ad Filium
hominis, perquirunt et curiose agunt quid in utroque nostrum
inveniant, quod offerant Deo. Vident et perscrutantur unius-
cujusque nostrum mentem, si habeat aliquid tale, si tarn sanctum
aliquid cogitet, quod Deo mereatur offerri. Intuentur, et con-
siderant si quis nostrum ex his quse dicuntur in ecclesia corde
compungitur, et animum convertit ad poenitentiam, &c. Cf.
Horn. VIII. in Genesim, 8 (ed. LOMM. VII. p. 203) ; in Num.
horn. XI. 3 (ed. cit. X. pp. 108 et seq.} ; ibid. 5 (ed. cit, X. p. 115).

5 ORIGENES, In Num. horn. XX. 3 (MiGNE, P. G. XII. 733
et scq.} : Adest unicuique nostrum, etiam minimis qui sunt in

144 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

into evil ways. 1 Christians enjoy the powerful aid of
the angels in their conflict with the powers of darkness,
the devil and his evil angels. Origen urges against
Celsus that the angels, being faithful protectors of
cities and armies, must not bear the blame when
things go wrong, for it is the demons who inflict
injury, thereby manifesting their evil nature and that
they have no ministry entrusted to them by God.
The true Christian, obedient to God and His Word,
suffers nothing from demons because he is stronger
than they, because the angel of the Lord encamps
round about those who fear the Lord and rescues
them, and because his angel, who always beholds the
face of the heavenly Father, ever offers up the true
Christian s prayers, through the only sole divine High
Priest, to the Creator of all, and unites his prayers
with the petitions of him who has been placed under
his care. 2 This protection does not end with life :

Ecclesia Dei, angelus bonus, angelus Domini qui regat, qui
moneat, qui gubernet, qui pro actibus nostris corrigendis et
miserationibus exposcendis, quotidie videat faciem Patris qui
in ccelis est ; sicut Dominus designat in evangeliis.

1 ORIG. Homilia I. in Psal XXXVII. i (MIGNE, P. G. XII.
1372) : Est antem quando erudimur etiam a procuratoribus, et
actoribus, id est ab his angelis quibus creditae sunt dispen-
sandae et regendse animae nostrae : quemadmodum describitur in
quodam loco angelus pcenitentiae, qui nos suscipit castigandos,
sicut " Pastor " exponit, si cui tamen libellus ille recipiendus
videtur. Interim diversis eruditionibus succumbimus nos
homines castigantibus, nos et corripientibus : nondum tamen
ab ipso patrefamilias castigamur, sed a procuratoribus angelis,
qui uniuscujusque nostri castigandi atque emendandi sortiuntur
officium, et est tolerabilius cum ab aliquo horum corripimur.

. KOETSCHAU, 11.251).

IN THE ANCIENT CHUKCH. 145

after the soul leaves the body, it is borne up by angels
through the heavenly regions to God s throne, and is
protected against the attacks of the evil spirits. 1 Nay
more, the reward which souls receive in the future
state is partly due to the merits of the angels who
have performed the divine commands. 2 The Christian
is in all the greater need of this protection from his
good angel, since, according to Origen s view, every
man has also an evil angel who tries to bring him
under his control and tempt him to evil. 3

Thus the faithful on earth live constantly in the com
panionship of this unseen power, protecting and assist
ing them on the way to salvation. When Christians
assemble for prayer, the angelic hosts assemble with
them, along with the power of the Lord and the
souls of the saints. Thus there is a double con
gregation present at the assemblies of the faithful,

1 ORIGENES, in Num. horn. V. 3 (ed. LOMM. X. p. 44).

2 ORIG. in Lev. horn. IX. 4 (ed. LOMM. IX. p. 346) : in
Jerem. horn. XXI. 6 (ed. cit. XV. pp. 409 et seq.}.

3 ORIGENES, in Lucam horn. XII. (ed. LOMMATZSCH, V. p.
127): Neque enim fas est credere, malos angelos suis praeesse
provinciis, et bonos non easdem provincias habere permissas.
Hoc antem, quod de singulis provinciis dicit, puto etiam de
universis hominibus generaliter debere credere. Unicuique
duo assistunt angeli, alter justitias, alter iniquitatis. Si bonse
cogitationes in corde nostro fuerint, et in animo justitia pullu-
larit, baud dubium quin nobis loquatur angelus Domini. Si
vero mala fuerint in nostro corde versata, loquitur nobis angelus
diaboli. Quo modo igitur per singulos homines bini sunt
angeli, sic opinor et in singulis dispares esse provinciis, ut sint
et boni, sint et mali. . . . Cf. Selecta in Numeros (MiGNE,
P. G. XII. 577); in Jesu Nave horn. XXIII. 3 (ed. LOMM.
XI. p. 195) ; in Lucam hom. XXXV. (ed. cit. V. pp. 217 et seq.};
de principiis, III. ii. 4 (ed. cit. XXI. pp. 313 et seq.\

146 THE COMMUNION" OF SAINTS

one formed of men, the other of angels. Origen seeks
to establish this from various passages of scripture. 1

Tertullian represents the relation of angels to
the faithful in the same way as Origen and Clement.
According to him they have their share in the sancti-
fication of the Christian in the laver of regeneration.
The baptismal water is given its healing properties by
the instrumentality of an angel, so that the soul is
washed in a bodily manner and the flesh spiritually
purified. 2 In explanation of this, Tertullian quotes
the pool of Bethsaida as an example ; just as once
a year bodily ills were healed there through the
instrumentality of an angel, so now daily men
are cleansed from sin into eternal salvation by the
reception of the Holy Ghost. The purification
from sin in baptism is due to the operation of the

1 ORIG., on Prayer, XXXI. 5 (ed. KdETSCHAU, II. pp. 398 et
seq.) : Cf. also in Lucam horn. XXIII. (ed. LOMM. V. p. 177) :
Duplex hie adest ecclesia, una hominum, altera angelorum. Si
quid juxta rationem, et juxta Scripturarum dicimus voluntatem,
lastantur angeli, et orant nobiscum. Et quia prsesentes angeli
sunt in ecclesia, in ilia duntaxat, quae meretur, et Christi est,
propterea orantibus feminis praecipitur, ut habeant velamen
super caput propter angelos, utique illos, qui assistunt sanctis,
et laetantur in ecclesia. Quos quidem nos, quia peccatorum
sordibus oculi nostri obliti sunt, non videmus, sed vident
Apostoli Jesu, ad quos loquitur : " Amen, Amen dico vobis,
videbitis ccelum apertum, et angelos Dei adscendentes et
descendentes super Filium hominis." Quod si haberem hanc
gratiam, ut quo modo Apostoli, sic viderem, et sicut Paulus
adspexit, intuerer, cernerem nunc angelorum multitudinem,
quos videbat Elisaeus, et Giezi, qui cum eo steterat, non videbat.

2 TERTULL., De baptismo, 4 (ed. OEHLER, I. 623) : Igitur medi-
catis quodammodo aquis per angeli interventum, et spiritus in
aquis corporaliter diluituret caro in eisdem spiritualitermundatur.

IN THE ANCIENT CHUKCH. 147

angel of baptism who thus prepares the way for
the Spirit of God. 1 To depict the happiness of
marriage entered upon according to the rites of
the Church, Tertullian points out in a well known
passage that the marriage is announced by the
angels and ratified by the heavenly Father. 2 In
other ways, too, the celestial spirits occupy them
selves with Christians. They watch over the course
of their lives, and register their sins. 3 They are able
to do this without difficulty since they can be every
where in an instant ; the universe to them is a mere
spot, and they know and proclaim whatever happens
anywhere. 4 From these statements we see that the
angels stay with the faithful, and take an interest in all

1 TERT., De baptismo, 5-6 (ed. eft. I. 625). The passage (6)
runs : Non quod in aquis Spiritum sanctum consequamur, sed
in aqua emundati sub angelo Spiritui sancto praeparanmr. Hie
quoque figura praecessit ; sic enim Joannes ante prascursor
domini fuit, praeparans vias ejus. Ita et angelus baptismi
arbiter superventuro Spiritui sancto vias dirigit ablutione
delictorum, quam fides impetrat obsignata in Patre et Filio et
Spiritu sancto.

2 Ad uxorem, II. 8 (ed. cit. I. 696): Unde sufficiamus ad
enarrandam felicitatem ejus matrimonii quod ecclesia conciliat
et confirmat oblatio, et obsignat benedictio, angeli renunciant,
pater rato habet ?

3 Tertullian puts the question to a Christian who had been
to the theatre : Quid facies in iilo suffragiorum impiorum
restuario deprehensus ? Non quasi aliquid illic pati possis ab
hominibus (nemo te cognoscit Christianum), sed recogita, quid
de te fiat in ccelo. Dubitas illo enim momento, quo diabolus
in ecclesia furit, omnes angelos prospicere de caelo et singulos
denotare, quis blasphemiam dixerit, quis audierit, quis linguam,
quis aures diabolo adversus deum ministraverit ? (De specta-
culis, 27 ; ed cit. I. 59.)

4 TERT., Apologeticus, 22 (ed cit. I. 208).

148 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

that concerns their welfare. Firmilian, in a letter to
St. Cyprian, alludes to the same ideas by saying that
the angels are united with the faithful, rejoice over the
admission of new members to the Church, and grieve
over schisms and dissensions. 1 The same belief under
lies the account of the confessor Natalis in Rome,
given by Eusebius. Natalis had allowed himself to
be persuaded by the followers of the heresy of
Theodotus, and even to be made bishop of the sect
in return for a monthly payment. He was fre
quently warned by the Lord in visions, but in vain.
Finally he was scourged by angels, and so sharply
chastized all night that as soon as it was morning he
arose, arrayed himself in penitential garments, covered
himself with ashes, and threw himself weeping at the
feet of Zephyrinas, Bishop of Rome, and so was at
last reconciled to the Church. 2 This story shows us
how intimate the concern of the angels in carrying
out God s purposes here below was considered
to be. At their departure from this world, the

* Epistula LXXV. inter Cypr. i (ed. HARTEL, II. 810) :
Adunatio enim et pax et concordia non solum hominibus
fidelibus et cognoscentibus veritatem sed et angelis ipsis
cselestibus voluptatem maximam prsestat, quibus dicit sermo
divinus esse gaudium in uno peccatore poenitentiam agente et
ad imitatis vinculum revertente. Quod utique non diceretur
de angelis conversationem in cadis habentibus, nisi ipsi quoque
essent nobis adunati qui nostra adunatione lastantur, sicut e con-
trario utique contristantur, quando vident diversas quorundam
mentes et scissas voluntates, quasi non tantum unum et eundem
Deum simul invocent, sed separatis et divisis ab invicem nee
confabulatio jam possit esse aut sermo communis.

2 EUSEBIUS, hist. eccl. V. 28.

IN THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 149

souls of the elect were received by angels and
accompanied to the heavenly Jerusalem. 1

Although we do not find that western writers of the
third century speak so clearly of the activity of the
spiritual world in the direction of the universe, or of
the ministration of guardian angels in particular, as
did Origen (as indeed we might expect, considering
how much he is given to theological speculation), yet
the casual allusions mentioned above show that
teaching concerning the angels, such as Origen
mentions as forming part of the Church s doctrine
("esse angelos Dei quosdam et virtutes bonas, qui
ei ministrant ad salutem hominum consummandam
[dfe princ. I., pref.]), was also prevalent among
Christians in the West, and gave rise to the same ideas
concerning the relation between angels and believers.

Origen, and indeed other teachers also of the
third century, did not regard the angels as free from
the possibility of failure in the discharge of their
ministry, and, on this account, he believed the angels
were judged by God with regard to the manner in
which they had discharged their ministry towards the
faithful. 2 This, however, did not stand in the way of

1 Cf- e -g- tne Passto s. Irenai ep. Sirmiensis (RuiNART, Acta
sincera, ed Ratisb. p. 434) ; acta s. Eupli. (ed. cit. p. 439).

2 ORIGENES, hi Numeros horn. XL 4 (ed LOMMATZSCH, X.
p. no): Igitur unusquisque angelorum in consummatione
Sceculi aderit in judicio, educens eos secum, quibus praefuit,
quos adjuvit, quos instruxit, pro quibus semper vidit faciem
patris, qui in coelis est. Et puto ctiam ibi inquisitionem futuram,
non quidem an cultures hominum angelus defuerit, sed an
cultune angelicas nequaquam digne segnitia humana respon
dent. Erit ergo et in hoc judicium Dei, utrum negligentia
aliqua ministrorum spirituum, qni ad ministerium et adjutorium

150 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

the great veneration paid to them on account of their
high dignity and station in the kingdom of heaven,
nor check gratitude for their help and protection.
By their nature, angels were higher than men, even
than the elect in heaven, 1 and admission to the
celestial kingdom was frequently expressed by saying
the soul had been received among the choirs of God s
angels. Veneration for the angels follows naturally
from the whole conception of their position with
regard to the faithful. Origen gives indirect evidence
of this in his controversy with Celsus. Celsus thought
that as Christians worshipped the Son of God, as well
as God Himself, they must a fortiori equally worship
God s ministers. To this Origen replies had Celsus
meant those who, after the only begotten Son of God,
are actually God s ministers, such as Gabriel, Michael
or the other angels and archangels, and had he main
tained that worship was to be paid to them, then he
Origen would perhaps have more closely defined
the meaning of the word " worship " and the duties
of a worshipper, in order to avoid misunderstanding.
But as it is the demons who were objects of worship
among the heathen whom Celsus means, no honour
can be paid to them by Christians. 2 In another
passage of the same work, Origen lays stress on the
point that Christians do not worship and pray to

missi sunt propter eos, qui hereditatem capiunt salutis, an
eorum qui ab iis juvantur ignavia, tarn multi lapsus vitse
humanse proveniant. Cf. in Num. horn. XX. 4 (ed. cit. p. 256) ;
horn. XXIV. 3 (ibid. p. 301).

1 ORIGENES, Comment, in Matth. X. 13 (ed. LOMM. III. pp.
33 et seq.\

2 GRIG., Contra Celsum, VIII. 13 (ed. KOETSCHAU, II. 230).

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 151

the angels, whose duty it is to minister to them and
convey to them God s gifts and graces, in the same
way as they worship God. For every prayer, every
petition, every invocation and thanksgiving is to be
sent up to the Lord God through the High Priest who
is placed above the angels. 1 We see from this what
Origen means when he refused to permit the invocation
of angels, for he writes : To invoke the angels, without
having attained to a higher and better understanding
of their nature and purpose than men possess, would
be unreasonable. But even if we had such an under
standing, still it would not be allowed to address
our prayers with confidence to any other than to
the Almighty God through our Saviour, the Son
of God. Then he adds with reference to the minis
trations of angels : And we doubt not that the holy
angels of God will be gracious to us and do every
thing for us provided we, as far as in us lies, in our
outward and inward conversation with God, follow
the example which they give us. 2 This fully har
monizes with Origen s whole conception of prayer
and the relation of the Christian to God (see
above, p. 71). It would be wrong, in my opinion, to
conclude from this that the Christians of that date
never called on the angels for their protection, seeing
they were convinced the angels were able to aid them
in so many ways. Indeed we find in Origen himself
an invocation of an angel that he would exert his
protecting and directing care over him. 3 There can

1 Contra Celsum, V. 4 (ed. cit. II. 4).

2 GRIG., Contra Celsum, V. 5 (he. cit. pp. 4-5).

3 ORIG., In Ezechiel, horn. I. 7 (ed. LOMMATZSCH, XIV. p. 20).

152 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

scarcely be any doubt that the Christian people
implored God s angels for protection and help, as
they did the martyrs and saints, especially when we
take into consideration the views developed above
as the position of the angels relative to the faithful.
It is even probable the invocation of angels was
practised in the Church at an earlier date than the
invocation of saints, and that the latter arose out of
the whole conception that had been formed of the
relation of the angels to the faithful.

And so we see that, throughout this period, the
views taught concerning the holy angels and their
relation to the members of the Church remained the
same as in the preceding period. They were further
developed by Clement of Alexandria, and still more
so by Origen, many of whose views were in time
generally accepted by the teachers of the Church.

PART III

THE FULLY DEVELOPED DOCTRINE OF THE
COMMUNION OF SAINTS IN THE FOURTH
AND FIFTH CENTURIES.

ALL the essential points in the doctrine of the
Communion of Saints and in the religious practices
arising from the doctrine are to be found in the third
century. In the flourishing period of patristic
literature, i.e., during the fourth century and first half
of the fifth, we find it fully developed both as to
doctrine and practice. In the first place, we find a
much more developed conception of the Church, and
that in two directions ; the Church is regarded, firstly,
as the external union of all believers who hold the
Catholic faith in all its fulness, and are in ecclesiastical
communion with the duly constituted authorities, and
secondly, as the inner union of the faithful who partake
in all the benefits of redemption with one another and
with the church triumphant the invisible city of God.
Along with this, new points of view present them
selves concerning the communion of inward spiritual
life among the members of the Church. Then, the
new question arises by what means and on what
conditions the souls of the faithful departed can be
aided. The worship of the saints itself also developed
in different directions ; it became more closely than

154 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS.

ever connected with the tombs and bodily remains
of the martyrs, and the saints were invoked for
their supernatural assistance in earthly and bodily
needs and necessities. The veneration for the saints
and the practices resulting from it became mingled, as
far as the people were concerned, with false views and
abuses, partly based upon heathen superstitions, but
these were opposed by the doctors and authorities of
the Church. St. Jerome, in writing against Vigilantius,
defends the worship of the saints in itself as a con
sequence of the vital communion of the church on
earth with the blessed in heaven, while St. Augustine
develops in particular the doctrine that the souls of
the saints now rejoicing in heavenly bliss take a
practical interest in the faithful still on earth. More
over, the worship of the saints exerted a profound
influence on the development of the liturgy and on
public worship in general. Along with the martyrs,
other famous members of the kingdom of God
received special honour as examples of life for the
faithful, and as protectors and intercessors with God.
This development was closely connected with the
great outburst of asceticism in the fourth century.
It was those great teachers of asceticism, who by a
life of the greatest self-renunciation had gloriously
overcome all attacks of the evil one, who, along with
some of the most celebrated bishops, now began to
be specially venerated with the martyrs in a marked
manner. The numerous miracles related in their
biographies had much to do with exalting these
fathers of asceticism in the eyes of the people, and
in obtaining for them special honour. From the

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 155

fourth century onwards the unique position of the
Mother of God in the Church becomes more and
more prominent. Many of her privileges had already
been dealt with in passing by earlier fathers, but
within the limits of the first three centuries we
find no full discussion of her office as intercessor
between Christ and the faithful. Two things in
particular encouraged the veneration of our Blessed
Lady : (i) the high value set upon virginity, Mary
being regarded by several of the most distinguished
doctors of the Church as the most perfect type of a
consecrated virgin ; (2) her dignity as Mother of God
which admitted her to a special share in Christ s
redemptive work, and, after the condemnation of
Nestorius errors by the Council of Ephesus, formed
the dogmatic basis for the development of the doctrine
concerning her position in the Church. When to this
we add the relation of the holy angels to the Church
and to the faithful (in which we find nearly the same
views as in the preceding period), we have all the
principal questions of interest in connection with our
subject. We have only to add that in the period now
under consideration the phrase "communio sanctorum"
appears in the Western creed ; this point will be dealt
with in the concluding chapter of this part.

156 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

CHAPTER I.

THE VITAL UNION BETWEEN ALL MEMBERS OF
THE KINGDOM OF GOD.

THE growth of the doctrine of the Communion
of Saints during the fourth century forms part and
parcel of the development of the doctrine con
cerning the Church. Since the days of Tertullian
and Irenaeus, the teachers of the Church had indeed
been occupied with the Kingdom of God and the
duty of membership therein, but they were more con
cerned with the communion of believers on earth in
doctrine, means of grace, and ecclesiastical organisa
tion (the hierarchy). But from the council of Nicaea on
wards, along with explanations of the Church as God s
Kingdom on earth, we meet with a larger number of
attempts to investigate the inward life of grace among
the members of the Church due to the operations of
the Holy Ghost. It is among the western fathers that
these questions received their deepest and fullest
treatment, and amongst these St. Augustine un
doubtedly carries off the palm. The Greek Fathers
continue to be chiefly occupied with the more external
side of the Church. Still we find in them also im
portant references to the spiritual bond uniting the
members of the Church in supernatural fellowship,
in virtue of which the faithful still living on earth
partake of the fruits of the spiritual life, and can even

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 157

receive assistance from the blessed who already have
attained to the heavenly city of GgcUj

St. Cyril of Jerusalem formulates a threefold
division of the Church: (i) the Old Testament
Jewish Church ; and (2) the holy Catholic Church
gathered by Christ from among the heathen. The
first was rejected because the Jews laid snares for the
Redeemer ; the second " is the Bride of Christ, the
type and copy of the heavenly Jerusalem." (3) This
last is, as it were, a third Church standing in relation
to the Catholic Church on earth, a relation which
appears external in its nature, such as we already
met with in Clement of Alexandria. 2 Beyond
this slight indication, implying some sort of com
munion between the faithful and their fellow-members
in the heavenly kingdom, St. Cyril does not help us,
save in a passage on intercession which will be con
sidered further on. St. Hilary deals much more fully
with the communion between the earthly Church
and the heavenly kingdom. Both are one ; whoso
ever dwells here below in the Church, which is like
wise the heavenly Jerusalem, will never be moved ;
whosoever dwells therein dwells also in the heavenly
Church, for it is the " forma " of the other, both being
heavenly. To it belong also the spirits founded upon

1 We must confine ourselves to these general allusions to the
development of the idea of the Church. Cf. SCHWANE, Dog-
mengeschichte, I 2 , pp. 399 et seqq.; II 2 , pp. 638 et seqq. HAR-
NACK, Dogmengeschichte, I 3 , pp. 369 et seqq.; II 3 , pp. 109 et
seqq.; Ill 3 , pp. 131 et seqq.

2 CYRILLUS HIEROS., Catechesis XVIII. 22-27 (opp. ed
REISCHL und RUPP, II. pp. 324 et seqq.\ especially 25 and 26.
See above, p. 54.

158 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

God, and thereupon Hilary concludes the faithful
must also be founded upon the Spirit 1 This
spiritual city will be perfected by the gathering
together of the saints at the resurrection ; it is called
Jerusalem, city of peace, because the kingdom of the
Lord is in the peace and harmony of the saints. 2
The angels and saints in heaven, who have already
gloriously overcome their earthly nature and rejoice
in divine things, are represented, according to the
same Father, by the mountains of which the psalmist
says : " Montes in circuitu nostro " ; and he interprets
the passage of the protection which they afford to the
faithful who desire to stand firm. This help is of
great use, but better still is the help of the Lord
Himself. 3 Hilary in this passage plainly speaks of all

1 HILARIUS, Tract in Ps. CXXIV. 4 (MiGNE, P. L. IX. 68 1
etseq.) : Confidamus in Domino ut conformes corpori glorias Dei
simus. Habitemus mine ecclesiam, coelestem Jerusalem, ut
non moveamur in osternum. In hac enim habitantes, habit-
abimus et in ilia, quia hsec illius forma est . . . Sed et
hsec coelestis et ilia coelestis ; et haec Jerusalem est, ilia quidem
ecclesia angelorum multitudinis frequentium : sed est ecclesia
primitivorum, est et ecclesia spirituum in Domino fundatorum
(Heb. XII. 22, 23). Fundandi ergo sumus in spiritu. . . .

2 HlL., Tract hi Ps. CXLVII. 2 (MiGNE, P. L. IX. 875 et
seq.) : Non differt Jerusalem a Sion ; nam secundum locorum
nomina urbis ipsius locus idem est : sed nominum interpretatio
geminam hanc ejusdem urbis commemorationem necessario
desiderabat. Jerusalem enim est civitas pacis. Et quia
Domini nostri regnum in pace et unanimitate sanctorum est,
et factus est, inquit, in pace ejus (Ps. LXXV. 3) conventus
ille beatorum qui Dei regnum est, Jerusalem tamquam civitas
pacis est dictus. Civitatem vero hanc vivis, ut ait apostolus,
lapidibus exstructam sanctorum ccetus conformis gloriae Dei ex
resurrectione consummat (i Pet. II. 5).

3 HlL., Tract, in Ps. cxxiv. 5, 6 (MiGNE, P. L. IX. 682) :

IN THE ANCIENT CHUKCH. 159

members of the Catholic Church, inasmuch as they
are in union with the heavenly Jerusalem. He does
not go into the question whether in this connection
there is any distinction between the just and sinners
in the Church ; one can merely gather from the
phrase, " Sed neque desunt stare volentibus sanctorum
custodiae," that the spiritual assistance of the saints
and angels is only given to those who conduct them
selves as true members of the Church. 1
T In St. Basil of Cappadocia we find a deeper concep
tion of the communion of Christians in the Church,
obivously due to the teaching of Origen (see above,
p. 54). The Holy Ghost works in all the faithful in

Sed neque desunt stare volentibus sanctorum custodiae neque
Angelorum munitiones. Dicitur enim : Montes in circuitu ejus
et Dominus in circuitu populi sui ex hoc nunc et usque in
speculum. Hos enim secundum superiora exempla montes esse
existimabimus, humilitatem terras excedentes, firmos et excelsos
et immobiles. Cum enim et montem significari Ecclesiam, id
est, Dominum in corpore legimus, et invenimus montes Dei
exultare atque Icetari ; scriptum est enim : Montes exultaverunt
ut arietes (Ps. cxiii. 4) : quomodo possumus montes non eos
significatos esse intelligere, qui super terrenam naturam gloriosi
jam in Dei rebus exultant ? Ac ne leve presidium in apostolis,
vel patriarchis ac prophetis, vel potius in angelis, qui Ecclesiam
quadem custodia circumsepiant, crederemus, adjectum est : Et
Dominus in circuitu populi sui ex hoc nunc et usque in saeculum.
Sed forte apostolorum vel angelorum custodia sufficiens existi-
metur. Verum id quidem est ; sed et Moysen audiamus.
Namque cum ei Dominus dixisset : Ecce angelus meus ante-
cedet te (Exod. XXXII. 34), et ille respondit : Nisi tu mecum
ambulaturus es, ne me expellas hinc (Exod. XXXIII. 15).
Bonum quidem presidium angeli, sed melius Domini.

1 Cf. HILARIUS, Tract in Ps. li. 3 (MiGNE, P. L. IX. 310 */
seq.) : In hanc igitur spiritalem domum rcdificandi in regale
genus sumus, si per spiritalem corporum axlificationem con-

160 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

a twofold manner similarly to the spoken and mental
word, sometimes by bearing witness along with our
own spirit, sometimes by dictating to the believer the
right thing to say. The operations manifest them
selves differently in each individual, and the Holy
Ghost works as the whole in the parts. All the faith
ful, however, in whom these operations are effected
form the body of Christ in the unity of the Spirit, and
so must necessarily share mutually the fruits of this
multiform operation, just as in the body the action of
each limb contributes to the welfare of the whole.
" The members have the same care for one another
according to the spiritual fellowship of mutual
sympathy that is in them." On the other hand, the
individual members are in the Spirit as parts in the
whole, because all have been baptised into one body,
the Church, and into one and the self-same Spirit. 1

formes Deo facti, genus perfici regale mereamur. . , .
Concessa ergo secundum prsecedentem psalmum peccatorum
remissione, Verbum caro factum habitat in nobis, qui et fratres
et domus spiritalis et regale genus sumus. Cf. ibid. 4.

1 BASILIUS, M., Lib. de Spiritu sancto, XXVI. (MiGNE, P. G.
XXXII. l8l) : Kai ws 6 Xoyo? 8 y if/vxy TTOT ^kv wi rb eyK&pdiov
v6-r)fJi.a, irort d ws 6 irpo&lt;pep6fji.evos did yXucrffys, ourw TO HvcvfJM rb dyiov
vvv fAv orav (rvpiMprvpn T(J) Trvev/j-aTL /cat orav K pa. fry ei&gt; rats Kapdlas
i)HG&gt;V "AjSjSa 6 liar??/)" (Rom. VIII. 16) vvv dt tirav \a\rj vtrep
T]^C)v /caret rb elp-rj^vov, 6 ri " ovx u/teis tvre oi \a\ovvrfs, dXXa rb
Hvev/j.a. rov Harpbs rb \a\ovv v v/juv " (Matth. X. 20). "H.Srj 8 /cai w?
6\ov Iv [tepeffi, voelrai rb Kvev/j.a, /card rrjv r&v xu.pwiL&r
Ildvres yap dXXiJXwr e&lt;r/uep /ueX?/, tytmt d ^apiVyuara /card, r^v
rov 6eov rr^v doOclffav TJ/JUJS 8id&lt;popa.. Aid rovro " ov dvvarai b
enreiv rrj %ei/&gt;t, XP e Lav ffov ^ K ^X u tf 7ra ^ lJ/ "h /ce0aX?; rocs iroal, xp^ iav
vfj.ut&gt; OVK fxw w (l Cor. XII. 2l), dXXd iravra. fj.lv onov ffVfj.Tr\r)pol rb
crw/ua rov Xpiarou iv rrj ei&gt;6rr)ri rov Hvevfj.a.ros, dXX^Xois 5
rr)v K r&v x a P Lff f J ^ TUV a.vrt8i5u&lt;riv ci?0^Xeiaj&gt;. p.ev yap debs

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 161

This lays a deep foundation on which to raise the
doctrine of the Communion of Saints. The divine
Spirit is in all, and all are in the divine Spirit ; the
operation of the Spirit differs in each, so that through
the mutual participation of each part of the whole,
each ministers to the spiritual welfare of the others,
and also of the whole. Origen had based the union
of the members of the kingdom of God on the
Holy Trinity, but here, owing to the further develop
ment of the doctrine of the Trinity subsequent
to the Nicene Council, it is ascribed to the Holy
Ghost, Who, according to i Cor. xii. 13, com
municates the divine energy to the Church. This
view gives a specially well grounded foundation
for the different manifestations to which belief in
the Communion of Saints gave rise in Christian
life. We meet the same idea, though expressed
with less detail, in other writings of St. Basil. For
instance, in the homily on the Forty Martyrs, where
he states that although the martyrs belonged to
different cities, yet it is needless to dwell upon this
point, since they all had one native land ; the city
of God, the heavenly Jerusalem, is the city of the
martyrs, the free mother of Paul, and of those
who are like him. Men, indeed, come of different
bodily descent, but their spiritual lineage is the same
for all : God is the Father of them all, and they are

Td /xeVrot fteX?) TO

avrb jite/x/mocrw virtp aXX^Xwi^, /caret TTJV Trvev/naTiK^v Koivuvlav TT)$
auro?5 inrapxoijcn&lt;)s. Aidirep " cfre Tnfcr^ei i-v /u.\os t
dvra ra fj.t\-r)- fire So^dferat v ^\os, avyxaipei. irdvra TO.
fj.\rj" (l Cor. XII. 26). Kat cos ^prj 5e Iv 6 Xy, ot /ca0 ft/a tfr/utv tv
tin ol iravrft ev hi &lt;rw/&gt;m, ds
L

162 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

united by the adoption of the Holy Ghost in mutual
concord by brotherly love. 1 Not only the heavenly
Jerusalem, where the angels, the assembly of the first
born and the saints are united, is the city of God, but
the Church on earth may also be so described ; in
both "the Most High has sanctified His Tabernacle."
The city of God must be understood as the assembly
of all intelligent creatures who have been refreshed by
the outpouring of the Holy Ghost, whether heavenly
powers or human souls. 2 y This mystical bond, consist
ing in the sanctifying operation of the divine Spirit,
includes all creatures who form the kingdom of God
and will find its perfection in the heavenly city of God. ^

In St. Gregory of Nazianzum, we meet with similar
utterances on the union of the faithful as members of
Christ s body in the Holy Ghost, and on the heavenly
Jerusalem, of which Christians are enrolled as citizens,
the true fatherland of the just. 3

St. John Chrysostom dwells more upon the union

1 BASILIUS M., Horn, in xl. martyrs, 2 (MiGNE, P. G. XXXI.
509) : IIoAis roivvv /uaprvpuv rj TroAis ecrrt rou deov, 97 rex^trTys /ecu
drjfjuovpyos 6 6ebs, r] &vw lepOWTdXfyti r? eAei^^pa, i) f^rjT^p Hati\ov /ecu
T&V ^Keivip 7rapa7rA?7crictU . IV^os 5e TO ^v avdp&invov d\\o aAAou, TO 5e

V aTTOLVTUV. KoLVOS JCLp O.VT&V TTCLTTlp 6 060S, KO.I O.5e\(J&gt;oi

OVK airb evbs /cat filas yevvyBevTes, dAA K rrjs viodecrias TOU
ets rrfv dca TTJS aydirys b^bvoiav clAA^Aois ffvvapfj^ocrd^VTes.
Cf. RegulcK fusius tractatce, Interrogatio VII. 2 (ibid. 929),
where this fellowship is quoted to prove that the manner of life
of the ascetics is superior to that of the anchorites.

2 BASILIUS, Horn, in Ps._ _xlv. 4, 5, on verse 5 : " Fluminis
Impetus lactificat civitatem Dei"(MlGNE, P. G. XXIX. 421-
424).

3 GREGOR. NAZ., Oratio XXXII. de moderations in disputando,
ii (MiGNE, P. G. XXXVI. 185); Oratio VIII. in laudcm
Gorgonitz sororis, 6 (ibid. XXXV. 796)-

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 163

of believers in the Church with reference to its
moral aspect in the effect it has upon Christian life
and duty. He deals with the question at length
in the 3Oth to the 32nd homilies in Corinthians, in
which he explains xii., 12 et seqq., of the Church as
the body of Christ. As our body is one although
composed of many members, so, although we are
many, yet we form only one body in the Church.
Thus no member is, as such, greater or less but all
are one, for no one of them can by itself make up
the one body, but each needs to be united to the
others; when many are bound up together, then
alone do we form a body. It is one Spirit which
brings it to pass that we form one body : one Spirit
baptized us, and we were baptized into one Spirit.
We are admitted to the same mystic feast ; the Spirit
has prepared one table for us and given us all one
drink. All this is applied by the preacher to the life
of believers with each other. " Let us apply to the
Church what is figuratively said of the body, and let
us have care for all as if they were members of our
own body." Therefore the needs of those scantily
provided with spiritual or bodily things should be
relieved, and especially should all lay to heart the
lessons to be learnt from the patience of the poor
and needy. He exhorts his hearers to unity and
peace with the whole Church, and, in conclusion, to
love of the brethren. 1 In another connection,
Chrysostom lays stress upon the fact that the sins of
individuals afflict the whole body, and so the Christian

JOANNES CHRYS. Horn. XXX.-XXXII. in /. ep. ad Cor.
(MlGNE, P. G. Ixi. 249 et seqq.\

164 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

must grieve for the sins of his brethren. " If you
disregard these sins, because they are found in
another body, you act most foolishly for every one
is a member of the whole body." : This is a striking
manifestation of SLzCh rysoslom V belief in the
intimate spiritual bond existing between the faithful.
Of course, the words are not to be taken as implying
that one man s sins are imputed to another who has
had no personal share in them, but merely that the
body of the Church, as a whole, is less perfecf in
God s sight when one member has sinned, and ^ so in
a certain sense all members of the body suffer. (^ As
a consequence of this communion between all the
members of the Church, the merits which each indi
vidual obtains become equalised in a sense, since what
some do more than others is applied to another s
benefit. This follows from the expressions employed
by several of the great Greek theologians, which have
been given above. St. Ephrem Syrus, always in close
harmony in dogmatic expressions with the Greek
Fathers, maintains this point frequently and unmis
takably. " You are members of one body," he
says, " you are bound to relieve one another. As
the members of the body, in which one soul dwells,
willingly minister to one another, and, ^according to
the words of the apostle, the eye cannot say to the
hand: I have no need of thee . . ."(i Cor. xii.,
21-23) ; so are we also members one of another, as
has already been said above. Since we are now
guided by one Spirit as fellow-members, and are

1 JOAN. CHRYS., Horn. I. de pcenitentia, 2-3 (MIGNE, P. G.
xlix. 280-81).

TN THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 165

nourished by the one living Word of Truth, so are
we bound by love, simplicity, kindness, and joy
harmoniously to afford one another mutual assistance.
. . . Let us preserve this disposition, full of holy
simplicity and love towards each other, and so the
superabundant merits of those who devote themselves
to continual prayer supply what those who are
occupied in other works, and indulge in rest, fall
short of in prayer. On the other hand, the greater
merits which they obtain who are employed in service
(in works of love) make up what is lacking in those
given to prayer, so that complete equality exists, as
is said (of the manna): "neither had he more that
had gathered more ; nor did he find less that had
provided less" (Exod. xvi. 18 : 2 Cor. viii. I5). 1
Macariug Jhe Egyptian instructs his monks in almost
the same words. " The brethren must now as always
be in love and peace with each other. Let him who
works say to him who prays : the treasure which
this brother gains belongs also to me because it is
common property. And let him who prays say to
the reader, what this man gathers from his reading
benefits me also. And let the worker say in his
turn : the service which I render is for the good
of all." 2

It was the conception of the Church as the body of
Christ, based upon St. Paul s words, which was mostly

1 ST. EPHREM SYRUS, Instruction on Christian Perfection^
c. 21, translated into German by F. Pius ZlNGERLE, Bibliothek
der Kickenvater, Ephrarn, vol. III. p. yy* et seq!).

2 MACARIUS AEGYPTIUS, Homilia III. 2 (MIGNE P. G.
XXXIV. 468 etseq.).

166 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

appealed to by the Greek theologians in support ot
their doctrine of the inner spiritual communion of the
faithful, and in close connection therewith emphasis
was laid upon the operation of the one Christ and
one divine Spirit in all the members of the Church.
This conception, besides the doctrine of good works,
and their meritoriousness, also naturally gave promin
ence to the belief that the prayers and other good
works of one man benefit another, a view which to a
certain degree underlies all intercession. Here we are
concerned with the point that not only the prayer
which is offered up directly for another in a given case
may obtain God s help for the person for whom it is
offered, but that the merits attached to the good
works of one man benefit his fellows in virtue of the
spiritual fellowship existing between them. Again,
the figure of " the city of God," the heavenly Jerusalem,
was employed to signify the saints, the whole body
of the just, and the holy spirits, and from this there
arose the idea of the fellowship of all believers among
themselves and with the citizens of the heavenly
kingdom, by which all were bound together into a
spiritual commonwealth with definite spiritual re
lationships. Among the western Fathers at the
beginning of the fifth century, St. Ambrose speaks
first of all in many passages of his works of inter
cessory prayer and the intercession of the saints,
and then, here and there, briefly alludes to the
grounds on which these manifestations of spiritual
communion rest. In his work in penance, he traces
back the help which a sinner receives through the
good works of his fellows to the church in general

IN THE ANCIENT CHUKCH. 167

in which all are united. Explaining the words of
St. Paul in i Cor. v. 7, he writes : " Therefore he
well says, Purge out. Through the mediation
of the people, through their works and tears, he
obtains purification who is freed from sin by the
prayers and sighs of the people, i.e., is purified in his
inner man. Christ has granted to His Church to
save one man by means of the others, as she herself
was counted worthy of the coming of the Lord Jesus,
in that through the One Man all the others were
redeemed." l In like manner in another passage he
exhorts sinners who despaired of pardon on account of
their grievous sins to turn to the Church to obtain her
intercessions. 2 He also applies the figure of the body
to the Church in order to show that the saints in
heaven, who still belong to the body of the Church,
have pity on the members of the body yet fighting
on earth. 3

This close union brings it to pass that all the faith
ful on earth are, as it were, one, or that each is in all.

1 AMBROSIUS, de ficenitentia, I. 15 (MiGNE, P. L. XVI. 510
et seq.}.

2 AMBROSIUS, Expos, in Lucam, V. n (MIGNE, XV. 1723):
Magnus Dominus qui aliorum merito ignoscit aliis, et dum alios
probat, aliis relaxat errata. Cur apud te homo collega non
valeat, cum apud Dominum servus et interveniendi meritum et
jus habeat impetrandi ? Disce, qui judicas, ignoscere ; disce,
qui asger es, impetrare. Si gradium peccatorum diffidis veniam,
adhibe precatores, adhibe Ecclesiam quas pro te precetur, cujus
contemplatione quod tibi Dominus negare posset, ignoscat

3 Ibid. Epist. XXXV. ad Horontianum, 7 ( MIGNE, P. L.
XVI. 1124): Cui conjunxit Apostolus (Rom VIII. 23) etiam
sanctorum gemitum, qui habent primitias Spiritus ; nam et ipsi
ingemiscunt. Quamvis enim de suo merito securi sint, tamen

168 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

" Siquidem et tu in omnibus es," cries St. Ambrose to
each Christian in order to incite them to pray for
one another. 1 It is to be noted that all the members
of the Church, so long as they are alive on earth
and belong to the external communion of the
Church, can share in the fruits of this spiritual
fellowship, even sinners, who are assisted by the
merits and good works of others in obtaining their
release from sin. The foundation of the Church,
teaches St. Ambrose, changing the metaphor, is
Christ, for He is the faith of all. But the Church
is a certain form, or manifestation of justice ; " The
common right of all prays, works, and is tempted
in common." Since faith is the foundation in Christ,
justice, which reposes on Him, performs good works. 2

quia futura est adhuc redemptio totius corporis Ecclesias, com-
patiuntur. Cum enim adhuc membra patiuntur corporis sui,
quomodo alia membra, licet superiora, non compatiuntur
membris unius corporis laborantibus ?

1 Ibid., De Cain et Abel, I. 39 (MiGNE, P. L. XIV. 354). We
shall have occasion to return again to this passage.

2 AMBROSIUS, De offitiis ministrorum I. 29 (MIGNE, P. L.
XVI. 70) : Fundamentum ergo est justitiae fides ; justorum
enim corda meditantur fidem ; et qui se Justus accusat, justitiam
supra fidem collocat ; nam tune justitia ejus apparet, si vera
fateatur. Denique et Dominus per Isaiam : "Ecce" inquit
"mitto lapidem in fundamentum Sion" (Is. XXVIII. 18), id
est, Christum in fundamenta Ecclesiae. Fides enim omnium,
Christus ; Ecclesia autem quasdam forma justitae est. Com
mune jus omnium in commune orat, in commune operatur, in
commune tentatur. Denique qui se ipsum sibi abnegat, ipse
Justus, ipse dignus Christo est. Ideo et Paulus fundamentum
posuit Christum (i Cor. III. 11), ut supra eum opera justitias
locaremus, quia fides fundamentum est : in operibus autem aut
malis iniquitas, aut bonis justitia est.

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 169

Since Christ is one, so the faithful are, as it were,
united in Him in good works. Yet all Christians
in the Church are united not only by faith but
also by love. He, therefore, who injures one member,
sins against the unity of the holy Church. 1 The
spiritual building up of the Church is carried on by
the Holy Ghost. St. Ambrose compares this operation
of the divine Spirit in regard to the faithful with
that of the Father and the Son, in order to prove His
divinity. 2 And so the spiritual supernatural activity
of God in the individual is the ground of the com
munion of all the faithful in the Church^ Of all the
theologians of antiquity no one has treated the doctrine
of the Church in so exhaustive and profound a manner
as St. Augustine ; his teaching attains its fullest ex
pression in his work on the City of God, in which, from
different points of view, he explains the essential
nature of the Church, her authority and supernatural
life of grace, j Harnack remarks on St. Augustine s con
ception of the Church : " To the idea of the Church as
a doctrinal authority, he adds the idea of her as a holy
institution for imparting grace. He has given special
attention to this latter aspect After he had grasped
his doctrine of grace, the Church had more attractions
for him as a communio sanctorum, i.e., as the abode

1 AMBROSIUS, De offitiis ministrorum, III. 3 (MiGNE, P. L.
XVI. 159) : Jam si in uno membro totum corpus violatur utique
in uno homine communio totius humanitatis solvitur : violatur
natura generis humani, et sanctse Ecclesiae congregatio, quse in
unum connexum corpus atque compactum unitate fidei et
charitatis assurgit : Christus quoque Dominus, qui pro universis
mortuus est, mercedem sanguinis sui evacuatam dolebit.

2 AMBROSIUS, De Spiritii sancto, II. 10 (MiGNE, P. L., XVI.

170 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

where the Spirit imparts faith, love and hope." 1 j In
this spiritual supernatural aspect of the Church s life
is to be found the principle which unites all the faith
ful in the Church as members of the mystical body of
Christ. There is, however, another idea, prominent in
St. Augustine, the union of all the justified from the
creation of the world into one spiritual city of God,
and the union of this with that other city of God
formed of the angels in heaven. We have indeed
met these ideas already, but no one has treated it so
systematically as St. Augustine.

The Church is the body of Christ : accordingly he
who does not belong to her cannot be a partaker of
Christian salvation." 2 Therefore all who are saved
belong to the Church. Not only the members of the
Church alive on earth at a given time are united to
the body of Christ, but also the faithful; .jdepartjgd as
well. St. Augustine proves this from the commemora-

798) : Sed nee hoc tantum loco Petrus apostolus, sed etiam
alibi in eodem libro a Spiritu sancto sedificatam Ecclesiam
demonstravit. Habes enim dixisse eum : " Deus qui novit
corda hominum, testimonium perhibuit, dans his Spiritum
sanctum, sicut et nobis : et nihil discrevit inter nos et illos,
mundans per fidem corda eorum (Act. XV. 8, 9)." In quo illud
est contuenclum, quia sicut Christus lapis est angularis, qui
unitatem plebis utriusque connexuit, ita etiam Spiritus sanctus
non discrevit utriusque populi corda, sed junxit.

1 HARNACK, Dogmengesckichte^\\\?^ 134.

2 AUGUSTINUS, De unitate Ecclesice, 2 ( V!IGNE, P. L. XLIII.
392) : HcEc autem Ecclesia corpus Chnsti est, sicut apostolus
dicit (Col. I. 24). Unde utique manifestum est, eum qui non
est in membris Christi, christianam salutem habere non posse.
Membra vero Christi per unitatis charitatem sibi copulantur,
et per eandem capiti suo cohaerent, quod est Christus Jesus,

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 171

tion made at the eucharistic celebration for the dead,
from the fact that baptism is given to the dying, and
from the reconcilation to the Church of notorious
sinners on their deathbed. The Church now rules
with Christ first of all over her living and departed
members. 1

The Old Testament saints also belong to the Church
on earth ; all who have been elected to eternal life
from the beginning are her members ; all have Christ
as their Head. 2 This Church attains perfection

1 AUG., decimtate Z)ez,XX. 9 (MlGNE, P. L. XLI. 674) : Neque
enim piorum animae mortuorum separantur ab Ecclesia, quae
nunc etiam est regnum Christi. Alioquin nee ad altare Dei
fieret eorum memoria in communicatione corporis Christi, nee
aliquid prodesset ad ejus in periculis baptismum currere ne
sine illo finiatur base vita, nee ad reconciliationem si forte per
poenitentiam malamve conscientiam quisque ab eodem corpore
separatus est. Cur enim fiunt ista, nisi quia fidelis etiam
defuncti membra ejus sunt? Quamvis ergo cum suis corporibus
nondum, jam tamen eorum animae regnant cum illo, dum isti
mille anni decurrunt. Unde in hoc eodem libro et alibi legitur :
" Beati mortui qui in Domino moriuntur, amodo et jam dicit
Spiritus ut requiescant a laboribus suis, nam opera eorum
sequuntur illos." (Apoc. XIV. 13.) Regnat itaque cum Christo
nunc primum Ecclesia in vivis et mortuis. " Praeterea enim,"
sicut dicit Apostolus, " mortuus est Christus ut et vivorum et
mortuorum dominetur" (Rom. XIV. 9). Sed ideo tantum-
modo martyrum animas commemoravit, quia ipsi praecipue
regnant mortui, qui usque ad mortem pro veritate certaverunt.
Sed a parte totum etiam caeteros mortuos intelligimus per-
tinentes ad Ecclesiam, quod est regnum Christi.

2 AUG. Enarratio in I J s. XXXVI. sermo III. 4 (MlGNE, P. L.,
XXXVI. 385) : Dominus enim ipse in corpore suo, quod est
. Ecclesia, junior fuit primis temporibus, et ecce jam sennit.
Nostis et agnoscitis et intelligitis quia in hoc positi estis et ita
credidistis, quia caput nostrum Christus est : corpus capitis
illius nos sumus (i Cor. XII. 27; Ephes. IV. 15). Numquid

172 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

in the union of all who are called to salvation in
her, and is united with the heavenly church
composed of the angels, for the elect are united in
bliss with the angels and fill up the vacant places
in the kingdom of heaven due to the fall of the
evil angels. 1 For the angels form the temple
of God, and so, during the existence of men on
earth, there is " a twofold church, one below
comprising the faithful, one above composed of the

soli nos et non etiam illi qui fuerunt ante nos? Omnes qui ab
initio saeculi fuerunt justi, caput Christum habent. Ilium enim
venturum crediderunt, quern nos venisse jam credimus, et in
ejus fide ipsi sanati sunt, in cujus et nos : ut esset et ipse totius
caput civitatis Jerusalem, omnibus connuneratis fidelibus ab
initio usque in finem, adjunctis etiam legionibus et exercitibus
angelorum, ut fiat ilia una civitas sub uno rege et una quadam
provincia sub imo irnperatore, felix in perpetua pace et salute,
laudans Deum sine fine, beata sine fine. Cf. Enarr. in Ps.
Ixii. 2 (MlGNE, P. L. XXXVI. 749) ; 6 (ibid. 751) ; in Ps. xc.
s. II. i (XXXVII. 1159) ; dc catechizandis rudibus, 3 (MlGxE,
P. L. XL. 313); 19(^.334-335).

1 Cf. the passage just quoted ; also the Enchiridion, 56
(MlGNE, P. L. XL. 258 et seg.) : Rectus itaque confessionis ordo
poscebat ut Trinitati subjungeretur Ecclesia, tamquam habitatori
domus sua, et Deo templum suum, et conditori civitas sua.
Quas tota hie accipienda est, non solum ex parte qua pere-
grinatur in terris, a solis ortu usque ad occasum laudans nomen
Domini (Ps. cxii. 3), et post captivitatem vetustatis cantans
canticum novum ; verum etiam ex ilia, quas in caelis semper, ex
quo condita est, cohaesit Deo, nee ullum malum sui casus
experta esr. Hasc in sanctis angelis beata persistit, et suas
parti peregrinanti sicut oportet opitulatur, quia utraque una erit
consortio yeternitatis, et nunc una est vinculo charitatis, quae
tota instituta est ad colendum unum Deum. . . Templum
ergo Dei, hoc est totius summse Trinitatis, sancta est Ecclesia,
scilicet universa in caelo et in terra.

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 173

angels." l The members of the church which consists
of men are bound together into the body of Christ,
and thereby united to the Head, which is Christ. By
this figure, St. Augustine illustrates the union of all
the faithful who from the beginning have lived in
justice. 2 The unitive force is " charitas," a term of
wide signification in St. Augustine, i.e., the fulfilment
of all that God demands from man, in respect of both
God and his neighbour, and all a man performs

1 AUG., Enarr. in Ps. cxxxvii. 4 (MiGNE, P. L. XXXVII.
1776): Certe tamen, quod manifestum est, in angelis habitat
Deus. Ergo cum gaudium nostrum de spiritualibus rebus, non
de terrenis bonis assumit canticum Deo, ut psallat coram angelis,
ipsa congregatio angelorum templum Dei est, adoramus ad
templum Dei. Ecclesia deorsum, et Ecclesia sursum : Ecclesia
deorsum in omnibus fidelibus, Ecclesia sursum in omnibus
angelis. Cf. E?iarr. in Ps. cxlix. 5 (ibid. 1952).

2 AUG., Sermo cccxli. 9 (MiGNE, P. L. XXXIX. 1499-1500) :
Tertius modus est, quomodo totus Christus secundum Ecclesiam,
id est, caput et corpus praedicetur. . . . Membra Christi
et corpus sumus omnes simul ; non qui hoc loco tantum sumus,
sed et per universam terram ; nee qui tantum hoc tempore, sed
quid dicam ? Ex Abel justo usque in finem sseculi quamdiu
generant et generantur homines, quisquis justorum per hanc
vitam transitum facit, quidquid nunc, id est, non in hoc loco sed
in hac vita, quidquid post nascentium futurum est, totum hoc
unum corpus Christi, singuli antem membra Christi. Si ergo
omnes corpus, singuli membra, est utique caput cujus hoc sit
corpus. " Et ipse est, inquit, caput corporis Ecclesiae, primo-
genitus, ipse primatum tenens" (Col. I. 18). Et quia de illo ait
etiam, quod semper "caput omnis principatus et potestatis sit"
(ibid. II. 10), adjungitur ista Ecclesia quae nunc peregrina est,
illi ccelesti Ecclesiae, ubi angelos cives habemus ; cui asquales
nos futuros post resurrectionem corporum impudentur nobis
arrogaremus, nisi Veritas promisisset dicens : " Erunt rcquales
angelis Dei "(Luc. XX. 36), et fit una Ecclesia, civitas regis
magni.

174 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

assisted by the grace of God and in union with the
Church. He who grows cold in love becomes a sick
member of the Lord s mystical body, but he can be
cured so long as he remains in union with the body.
But if he carries his wickedness to such an extent
that he is cut off from the body, he can no longer
be healed. 1 Accordingly union with the Church, in
the sense given above, is absolutely necessary for
salvation. How strongly St. Augustine regarded
believers as forming one whole is seen from what he
says concerning the miraculous gift of tongues at
Pentecost. " Since each baptized person receives the
Holy Ghost, how comes it no one speaks in the
tongues of all nations ? " The Church, spread
throughout the nations, speaks with all tongues ; the
Church is the body of Christ, and in this body thou
art a member. As thou art a member of this body,
which speaks with all tongues, so thou too speakest
in all tongues. The unity of the members agrees

1 AUG., Sermo cxxxvii. I (MiGNE, P. L. XXXVIII. 754) : Non
ignorat fides vestra, carissimi, et ita vos didicisse novimus,
docente magistro de coelo in quo spem vestram posuistis, quia
Dominus noster Jesus Christus, qui jam pro nobis passus est et
resurrexit, caput est Ecclesire, et est corpus ejus Ecclesia, et in
ejus corpore unitas membrorum et compago charitatis tanquam
sanitas exsistit. Quicumque antem in charitate friguerit,
infirmatur in corpore Christi. Sed potens est ille, qui jam
exaltavit caput nostrum, etiam infirma membra sanare : dura
tamen non nimia impietate pnecidantur, sed hxreant corpori
donee sanentur. Quidquid enim adhuc hseret corpori, non
desperate sanitatis est ; quod antem praecisum fuerit, nee
curari nee sanari potest. Cum ergo sit ille caput Ecclesise et
sit corpus ejus Ecclesia, totus Christus et caput et corpus est.

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 175

together in love, and this unity speaks whenever one
man speaks. 1

The Church s spiritual life is quickened by the
Holy Ghost. What the soul is to man s body, the
divine Spirit is to Christ s mystical body, the Church.
The operations are various as the activities of the
members of the human body are various, but the
source of these activities is one, just as is the case
with the soul in a man s b^dy. This, however, only
benefits the faithful united in the Church ; heretics
who have not " charitas " are cut off from her,
" membrum amputatum non sequitur Spiritus."
This principle applies also to the life which in the
Church is guided by the Divine Spirit. 2 This activity
is of course exercised by the Holy Ghost in com
bination with, and not in separation from, the two
other divine Persons. 3

1 AUG., Tract. XXXII. 7 in ev. Joann. cap. VII. (MlGNE,
P. L. XXXV. 1645).

2 AUG., Sermo cclxvii. 4 (MlGNE, P. L. XXXVIII. 1231):
Si vultis habere Spiritum sanctum, intendite fratres mei :
spiritus noster quo vivit omnis homo anima vocatur ; . . .
et videtis quid faciat anima in corpore. Omnia membra
vegetat ; per oculos videt, per aures audit, . . . officia
diversa sunt, vita communis. Sic est Ecclesia Dei : in aliis
sanctis facit miracula, in aliis sanctis loquitur veritatem, in
aliis sanctis custodit virginitatem, in aliis sanctis custodit
pudicitiam conjugalem, in aliis hoc, in aliis illud ; singuli pro-
pria operantur, sed pariter vivunt. Quod antem est anima
corpori hominis, hoc est Spiritus sanctus corpori Christi quod
est Ecclesia ; hoc agit Spiritus sanctus in tota Ecclesia quod
agit anima in omnibus membris unius corporis. . . .

3 AUG. Sermo Ixxi. 20 (MlGNE, P. L. XXXVIII. 463) : Sed ut
jam non semel diximus, ideo remissio peccatorum, qua in se
divisi spiritus evertitur et expellitur regnum, ideo societas

176 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

In this way all the faithful are in the " Communion
of Saints," /&gt;., of all the elect of God, and are called
to fellowship with the angels ; they form one whole,
an organism based upon Christ and quickened by the
Holy Ghost. From this it follows that the spiritual
blessings gained by some through the assistance of
God s grace can benefit others.

unitatis Ecclesiae Dei, extra quam non fit ipsa remissio pec-
catorum, tanquam proprium est opus Spiritus sancti, Patre
sane et Filio cooperantibus, quia societas est quodam modo
Patris et Filii ipse Spiritus sanctus.

X THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 177

CHAPTER II.

THE INTERCESSION AND MERITORIOUS WORKS OF
THE FAITHFUL FOR EACH OTHER.

INTERCESSORY prayer occupies the same position,
both in the public services of the Church and in the
religious life of the individual, as in the preceding
period. ( As far as the liturgy is concerned, it is
principally at the eucharistic celebration that we
find intercessions for the whole Church, for those in
authority, for the army, for all who are in any special
distress. It is sufficient to refer to the mystagogical
lectures of St. Cyril of Jerusalem, who witnesses for
the whole Church, as may be proved from the evidence
of the early liturgies. 1 At other religious services,
when the faithful assembled to sing psalms and join
in prayer, the present and departed believers and
others were kept in mind, as we learn from the descrip
tion of the liturgical practices observed in Jerusalem
at the end of the fourth century and preserved for
us in the " Peregrinatio Silviae." The doctors of

1 CYRILL. HEROS., Catechesis migstag. V. 8 (ed. Reischl and

Rupp, II. 384) : Elra ytterd rb aTrapTLcrd fjvai rrjv irvev/j,a.TiKTiv dwiav,
T-rjv avai/j.a.KTov \arpeiav, eirl TTJS 6v&lt;rias eKeivrjs TOV i\acrfj,ov Trapa,Ka\ov/j.ei&gt;
TOV dtbv virep KOIVTJS T&V ^K/cA?7&lt;rtcJi&gt; eipTjvrjs, virtp rrjs TOV K6&lt;rfji.ov evara-
delay, vjrp fiaffiXtuv, virtp crrpartajrcDv Kal crv/j.^dx^f, eirtp rCjv tv
acrdeveiais, v-rrep T&V KaTOTrovov/atvinJv, /cat aTra^aTrXcDs virtp iravTuv
iravres -fi/meis Kal ra^Ttjv irpotrfapofjiev rr)v

2 S. SILVI/E AQUITAN^E Peregrinatio ad loca sancta, ed.

178 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

the Church belonging to this period attach great
importance to these prayers. In numerous passages
of their writings, as in their letters, addresses, and at
the conclusion of treatises, they request the prayers of
clergy and people for themselves in different circum
stances. Frequently they state the particular form
they wish the intercessions to take, as, for instance,
St. Hilary asks those to whom he addresses his
book on synods to remember his exile in their holy
prayers. 1 St. Basil, seeking to stir up the bishops of
Gaul, Italy, and the Islands of the Mediterranean to
interpose in the disputes in the East, does not omit
to remind them that if they are unable to vi-it Asia
Minor in the body, they can yet give practical effect
to their communion in the Church by their prayers ;
for their prayers will be no small assistance to the
oppressed church of Asia Minor in her troubles. 2
St. Basil also appeals to Bishop Eusebius of Samosata,

Gamurrini (Bibl. delP Accad. stor.-giur. IV. Romse, 1887), p.
78 : Unus ex diaconibus facit commemorationem singulorum,
sicut solet esse consuetude. Et diacono dicente singulorum
nomina semper pixinni plurimi stant respondentes semper :
Kyrie eleyson, quod dicimus nos : Miserere Domine ; quorum
voces infinitas sunt. Et utubi daconus perdixerit omnia quas
dicere habet, dicet orationem primum episcopus et orat pro
omnibus ; et sic orant omnes, tarn fideles quam et cathecumeni
simul.

1 HILARIUS, Liber de synodis, 92 (MlGNE, P. L. X. 546) :
Mementote exilii mei in orationibus sanctis : a quo me, post
expositionem hujus fidei, nescio an tam jucundum est ad vos in
Domino Jesu Christo reverti quam secururn est mori.

2 BASILIUS M., Epi$t. II. cciii. 3: Maritimis episcopis
(MlGNE, P. G. XXXII. 741); ccxliii : ad episcopos Italos et
Gallos, j (ibid. 901-904).

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 179

when asking his opinion on various questions, to
reply as quickly as possible, if a messenger be
forthcoming, but if not to pray that God would guide
him according to His will. He then adds the
prayer that they may especially remember him at the
liturgical assemblies, that he, the bishop, along with
the people entrusted to his care may fulfil the
remaining days or hours of their pilgrimage according
to God s good pleasure. 1 We meet with the same
idea in almost all Greek and Latin writers of the
Church in that age, and no more need be said on the
subject. Bishops exhort the faithful in their sermons
to be diligent in intercession, and endeavour by all
means to stir them up to zeal in this duty. St. John
Chrysostom alludes to the example of St. Paul, who
prayed not for one city alone but for the whole world,
and that not once or twice or thrice but without
ceasing, and appealed to the conscience of his hearers
to do likewise. Can one of us boast, he says, that in
his private prayers he remembers the whole Church ?
He considers this question must be answered in the
negative ; 2 still it shows that people prayed privately
for individuals even if they failed to do so for the
whole Church. The passage in 2 Cor. i. 11 (Ad-
juvantibus et vobis in oratione pro nobis, &c.)
gives Chrysostom the opportunity to speak fully of
prayer for others. It is very pleasing to God to
thank Him for the benefits He confers upon others,

1 BASILIUS M , Epist. II. cxxxviii. 2 : Eusebio episcopo samosa-
torum (MiGNE, P. G. XXXII. 581). Cf. civ. (ibid. 612-13).

2 JOAN. CHRYS., Horn. \\..in epist. ad Romanes (I. 9), 2
( MIGNE, P. G, LX. 402 et seq.}.

180 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

for the man who gladly prays and returns thanks for
others does the same still more gladly for himself.
Thereupon the preacher exhorts his hearers : " Let us
then unite in constant prayers and intercessions for
each other as the first Christians did for the apostles."
He further advises them to betake themselves as
opportunity offers to holy men who may return
thanks on their behalf, and to do the same for one
another. He alludes to the directions of the Church
enjoining prayers of this kind for the faithful and
especially for catechumens. 1

The faithful ought to try by almsgiving to make
sure of the prayers of the needy whom they have re
lieved. And so St. Basil exhorts those who have
fallen into the sin of drunkenness to redeem them
selves from sin by almsgiving, interpreting in this
sense Prov. xiii. 8 (Pretium redemptionis viri sunt
suae ipsius divitise). By almsgiving the sinner may
gain the poor as his companions in prayer, and so the
more quickly obtain pardon for his sinful error. 2

St. Ambrose bases the duty of intercession on love
of the brethren, which binds together all the members
of the Church, the common mother of all believers,
and also on the need of solidarity among all in this
respect. If a Christian, for instance, prays only for

1 JOAN. CHRYS., Horn. II. in epist. 2 ad Cor., 4-5 (MIGNE, P.
G. LXI. 396 et seq.\ Cf. horn. XVIII. in 7. ad Cor., 2 Cor.
III. 20-24 (ibid. 525 et seqq.\ where the duty of taking part
in the prayers of the congregation is enforced. BASILIUS M.,
Moralia, Reg. LVI. 5 (MlGNE, P. G. XXXI. 785) ; Reg. LXVI.
2 (ibid. 805).

2 BASILIUS M. Horn. XIV, in ebriosos, 8 (MIGNE, P. G,
XXXI. 461),

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 181

himself, he prays alone for himself, but if each prays
for all, then also all pray for each, and it is just in this
that the advantage of the Communion of Saints con
sists for the faithful. At the same time it is a sign of
humility, and on this account prayers in common
produce the greater fruit! 1

The other fathers belonging to this period express
themselves in the same way when speaking of the
intercessions of the faithful for each other and for all
mankind. 2 The faithful may also pray to God on
behalf of the heathen, heretics, and sinners separated
from the Church. But in this case intercession has
another meaning ; its object here is the conversion of
unbelievers and sinners, or the obtaining of external
peace in order the Church may freely develop. The
special fruit of intercession is imparted only to

1 .AMB.RQSIIIS,. Dt Cain et Abel, I. 39 (:\iigne, P. L. XI V. 354) :
Orandum autem praecipue et pro populo doceris (i Tim II. i),
hoc est pro toto corpore, pro membris omnibus matris tuae, in
quo mutuae charitatis est insigne. Si enim pro te roges tantum,
solus pro te rogabis. Et si pro se tantum singuli orent, minor
peccatoris quam intercedentis est gratia. Nunc autem quia
singuli orant pro omnibus, etiam omnes orant pro singulis.
Ergo ut concludamus, si pro te roges tantum, solus, ut diximus,
pro te rogabis. Si autem pro omnibus roges, omnes pro
te rogabunt, siquidem et tu in omnibus es. Ita magna re-
muneratio est, ut orationibus singulorum acquirantur singulis
totius plebis suffragia. In quo arrogantia nulla, sed hurnilitas
major est et fructus uberior.

2 Cf. for example, RUFINUS AQUIL., Commenlarius in
symbolum apostolorum, i ; AUGUSTINUS, Epist. XX. (ad
Antoni?miri) 2 ; epist. ccxxxi. (ad Darhtni) 6 ; Tract in
evang. Joannis, V. 20 ; HlERONYMUS, epist. Ixxiv. ad Rufinuvi,
6(MiGNE, P. L. XXII. 685), and many other passages of these
and other writers.

182 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

believers in the Church ; they alone benefit by the
prayers offered up for the Church, these being solely
for those who are truly members of the Church. It is
interesting to note in this connection how St.
Augustine explains the words already quoted (p. 105)
of St. Fructuosus in the acts of this holy bishop
and his companions. 1 If a man deliberately and
obstinately severs himself from the inner and outer
communion of the Church by impenitent persistence
in a " peccatum ad mortem," for such an one, accord
ing to St. Jerome, shall no one pray, i.e., as follows
from the argument, shall not pray as if by his inter
cessions and prayers he can obtain the justification
which is lacking to that man so long as he remains
hardened in his sin. 2 This points to the conclusion

1 AUG. Sermo cclxxiii. in natali Fructuosi episcopi (etc.), 2
(MiGNE, P. L. XXXVIII. 1249) : Inter castera, quale erat illud
beati Fructuosi episcopi ? Cum ei diceret quidam et peteret
ut eum in mente haberet et oraret pro illo, respondit : " Me
orare necesse est pro Ecclesia catholica, ab oriente usque ad
occidentem diffusa." Quis enim orat pro singulis? Sed
neminem singulorum prasterit, qui orat pro universis. Ab eo
nullum membrum prsetermittitur, cujus oratio pro toto corpora
funditur. Quid ergo vobis videtur admonuisse istum, a quo
rogabatur ut oraret pro eo ? quid putatis ? Sine dubio, intel-
ligitis. Commemoramini a nobis. Rogabat ille ut oraret pro
illo. " Et ego," inquit, " oro pro Ecclesia catholica, ab oriente
usque ad occidentem diffusa." Tu si vis ut pro te orem, noli
recedere ab ilia pro qua oro.

2 HlERONYMUS, Comm. in Jeremiam III. 14 (MiGNE, P. L.
XXIV. 802) : Stultum est orare pro eo qui peccaverit ad
mortem, dicente Joanne : " Est peccatum ad mortem, non pro
illo dico ut roget quis " (i Joan. v. 16). Omnis iniquitas
peccatum est, et est peccatum non ad mortem. Jejunia et
preces et victimae et holocausta tune proficiunt, cum recedimus

IN THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 183

that all graces and supernatural fruits of prayer granted
in answer to the intercessions of the Church and of
the faithful conversion to the Church and to a
Christian life within her communion alone excepted
can only be obtained by those united as members
with the mystical body of Christ. Accordingly, it is
a great advantage to belong to the communion of the
Church, and, from this point of view, intercessory
prayer is a practical expression of that spiritual union
which binds together the members of Christ s mystical
body. St. Augustine has developed this idea in a
passage of one of his writings against the Donatists
which has important bearing on our subject. He asks
if the prayers of the saints in the Church (by which
he means those actually alive on the earth either by
themselves or in conjunction with the departed) may
not, by a special dispensation of divine mercy, atone
for the sins of those who, after having been baptized
outside the Church, return to Church unity. He goes
on to say that the prayers of the saints do not avail
for the man who is in heresy or schism, nor for
the man who, although baptized in the Church, yet
by a wicked life remains in the guilt of sin. 1 In

a vitiis et flemus antiqua peccata. Sin autem in sceleribus
permanentes, putaverimiis votis atque sacrificiis redimere nos,
vehementer erramus, iniquum arbitrantes Deum, Qui enim
semel gladio et fami et pesti fuerit destinatus, nullis precibus
erui potest. Unde et Prophetae dicitur, ne frustra roget quod
impetrare non possit (Jerem. XIV. 11-12).

1 AUGUSTINUS, de baptismo contra Donatistas III. 17
(MiGNE, P. L. XLIII. 149 et seg.) : Nam quod in typo unitatis
Petro Dominus dedit potestatein, ut id solveretur in terris quod
ille solvisset, manifestum est quod ilia unitas etiam una columba

184 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

order to show the great benefit of the prayers of the
just still alive on the earth, St. Augustine appeals
to the passage in the book of Exodus (xxxii. 32)
where Moses implores the Lord, if He will not
pardon the sin of the children of Israel, to strike
him out of the book that He has written. 1 He
avails himself of the duty of intercessory prayer in
order to address suitable exhortations to his flock. 2

perfecta sit dicta. Numquid ergo ad eandem columbam
pertinent omnes avari, de quibus in eadem catholica graviter
idem Cyprianus ingemuit? Nam, ut opinor, raptores non
columbae sed accipitres dici possunt. Quomodo ergo baptiz-
abant qui fundos insidiosis fraudibus rapiebant et usuris multi-
plicantibus fenus augebant, si sola ilia columba, id est, ilia
unitas qme nisi in bonis intelligi non potest, simplex et casta et
perfecta baptizat ? An forte per orationes sanctorum spiritualium
qui sunt in Ecclesia, tanquam per columbae creberrimum
gemitum, magnum geritur sacramentum et occulta dispensatio
misericorduie Dei, ut eorum etiam peccata solvantur qui non
per columbam sed per accipitrem baptizantur, si ad illud sacra
mentum cum pace catholicse unitatis accedunt ? Quod si ita
est, cur non ergo per eorum orationes cum quisque ab haeresi
aut schismate ad pacem catholicam venit ejus peccata solvantur?
Sacramenti autem integritas ubique cognoscitur, sed peccat-
orum illam irrevocabilem remissionern extra unitatem Ecclesiai
non valebit. Nee in hyeresi aut schismate constitutum
sanctorum orationes, id est illius unicae columbas gemitus,
poterunt adjuvare, sicut nee intus positum possunt, si adversum
se ipse per vitam pessimam teneat debita peccatorum, non solurn
si per accipitrem, sed etiam si per ipsius columbas pium
ministerium baptizetur.

1 Enar -ratio in Ps. CJ r . 21, on verse 23 (MlGNE, P. L.
XXXVII. 1412) : Ubi demonstratum est intercessio sanctorum
quantum pro aliis valeat apud Deura. Securus enim Moyses
de justitia Dei, qua eum delere non posset, impetravit miseri-
cordiam, ne illos, quos juste posset, deleret.

2 AUG., Set mo ccvii. 3 (MlGNE P. L. XXXVIII. 1044): N

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 185

When attacking Pelagianism, St. Augustine does
not neglect to seize the opportunity to appeal to
intercessory prayer as an argument for divine grace
and its necessity for justification. The Church
prays not only for the faithful that they may per
severe, but also for unbelievers that they may too
believe. For since the fall those who are delivered
from the general condemnation can only be delivered
by the grace of God, and what the law enjoins
can only be fulfilled by God s assistance, hence
prayer is made to God both for the faithful and the
unbelieving. The Pelagians reject the necessity of
divine grace, and on this account desire to suppress
the prayers offered up in the whole Church. 1 It is

Certe sicut nos apti efficimur ad orandum eleemosynis et
jejuniis sic et ipsa nostra oratio facit eleemosynas, cum dirigitur
atque profunditur, non pro ainicis tantum, verum etiam pro
inimicis, et jejunat ab ira et odio et a perniciosissimis vitiis.
Cf. Epistola XX. ad Antoninum, 2 (MlGNE, P. L. XXXIII. 87) :
Gratior est enim Deo pro fratre deprecatio, ubi sacrificium
caritatis offertur.

1 AUGUSTINUS, Opus itnperf. contra Julianum VI. xli.
(MlGNE, P. L. XLV. 1606) : Unde sancta ecclesia per ora
supplicantium sacerdotum non solum pro fidelibus, ut in eo
quod credunt perseverante pietate non dificiant, verum etiam
pro infidelibus orat ut credant. Ex quo enim per humanum
liberum arbitrium Adam commisit illud grande peccatum et
omne genus humanum in commune damnavit, ab hac communi
damnatione homines quicumque liberantur, nonnisi divina
gratia et misericordia liberantur ; et quidquid lex Dei
jubet, nonnisi eo qui jubet adjuvante, inspirante, donante
completur ; qui rogatur ut permaneant, ut proficiant, ut per-
ficiantur fideles ; qui rogatur etiam ut credere incipiant infideles.
Quas ecclesiae sanctic preces toto terrarum orbe crescentes et
ferventes opprimere ac extinguere cupiunt, qui contra istam Dei

186 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

obvious from this, that in St. Augustines teaching on
the necessity of grace, intercession for all the needs
of the believer s religious life was of essential import
ance, and that on the grounds adduced by himself in
the passage just quoted.

Not only by prayer, but by other good works
meritorious before God, the faithful may obtain
spiritual benefits for their brethren in the Church.
St. Ambrose, following out the idea of the passage
already quoted (p. 169) on the fellowship of believers
in the Church, by virtue of which Christ has com
mitted to the Church the office of saving a soul
through the instrumentality of others, goes on to
explain the words, " Purge out the old leaven, that
you may be a new paste, as you are unleavened," to
the effect that the whole Church takes over the burden
of each man s sins, compassionating him with tears,
prayer, and suffering : she covers herself, as it were,
with the leaven of the sins of each of her members, so
that whatever has to be blotted out in the life of each
penitent is cleansed through the universal pity and
compassion. 1 St. Ambrose has plainly in view the

gratiam humanas voluntatis arbitrium, ut gravius de alto
prascipitent, extollunt potius quam defendant.

1 AMBROSIUS, de pcenttentia I. 15 (MIGNE, P. L. XVI. 511):
Consideremus ipsum Apostoli sermonem : "PIxpurgate vetus
fermentum ut sitis nova conspersio sicut estis azymi " (i Cor. v.
7). Sive quod tota Ecclesia suscipiat onus peccatoris, cui
compatiendum et fletu et oratione et dolore est, et quasi
fermento ejus se totam conspergat, ut per universes ea quae
superflua sunt in aliquo pcenttentia agente virilis misericordiae
aut compassionis velut collativa quadam admixtione purgentur ;
sive ut ilia mulier evangelica docet (St. Luke xiii. 21), quae

IN THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 187

works of penance and mortification which are fulfilled
in the Church, either in obedience to the discipline
enjoined upon all, or voluntarily undertaken by
the individual himself i.e., fasting and other peni
tential exercises the merits obtained thereby being
available for sinful members of the Church. This
passage, bearing directly on the question with which
we are dealing, is based upon the same idea which we
have already met with in connection with the letters
of peace given by the confessors of the third century,
i.e., the possibility that believers by their good works
may satisfy before God for the sins of others.

On yet another occasion the great bishop of Milan
alludes to this virtue of good works. In his work
" De virginibus," after describing the virtues in which
those who desire to dedicate themselves to God in
the ascetic life must exercise themselves, he addresses
the parents of these consecrated virgins as follows :
" Ye parents have now heard in what virtues ye must
instruct your daughters, and what doctrines ye must
teach them, in order that they may atone for your
transgressions by their merits. A virgin is a gift to
God, her father s present, a priestess of purity ; she is
her mother s sacrifice offered to God, by whose
oblation, daily renewed, the divine majesty is
appeased. 1 We have here exactly the same idea
which we met with above, z&gt;., that good works have
the power of satisfying for others. We learn from
this that it was no mere casual thought to which St.

typum praetendit Ecclesiae, eo quod fermentum abscondit in

farina sua donee fermentetur totum, ut mundum omne sumatur.

1 AMBROSIUS, de virginibus I. 7 (MiGNE, P. L. XVI. 208-209).

188 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

Ambrose gave expression in his explanation of the
passage concerning the leaven of sins, but rather
his firm conviction on this point. Nor is there any
doubt that St. Ambrose was not alone in this ; on the
contrary, he expressed what was the universal belief
of the Church, The same belief underlies the
thoughts to which St. Ambrose gave expression,
somewhat oratorically, on the death of his brother
Satyrus, whose constant desire it had been that, if
suffering awaited either the Church or himself
personally, it might first of all come upon him and
his house; u Thank God that I, in this universal
fear, when everything was anticipated from the under
takings of the barbarians, by my own sufferings have
averted the grief of all, and that what I dreaded for
all has been diverted upon myself. May it suffice,
and may my suffering be the redemption of the public
grief."

We shall see how not only prayer and especially
intercession at the eucharistic sacrifice, but even alms,
were offered up for the departed, and that the faithful,
as the doctors of the Church were convinced, could
thereby come to the assistance of departed souls.
This takes for granted the belief that by works well
pleasing to God one could obtain benefits from God for
others.

All this goes to show to what importance the
practice of intercessory prayer had attained in
Christian thought and practice in this period.

1 AMBROSlUS, De excessu fratris sui Satyri I. I (MlGNE,
P. L. XVI. 1347).

IN THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 189

CHAPTER III.

VARIOUS FORMS OF INTERCESSION FOR THE DEAD,
AND THE INVOCATION OF DEPARTED SOULS.

I.THE practice of assisting departed souls and
ameliorating their condition by prayers, especially in
connection with the offering of the eucharistic
sacrifice, by alms, and by invoking the martyrs was
generally observed throughout the whole Church."^
The evidence for it is so extensive that any special
proof of the practice of prayers for the departed in this
period seems superfluous. 1 Our intention is only to
enquire in what sense these prayers were regarded,
and what light such formularies throw upon the
beliefs held respecting the inner spiritual union
existing among all members of the kingdom of God.
Cl n the first place, these prayers were offered directly
for the dead with the view of gaining a share in God s
grace for them after death. It follows from this
that the faithful on earth were convinced that they
were so far in relation with the departed souls that
their intercessions availed to procure God s assistance
for them. We have seen already that the departed
did not cease to belong to the body of the Church
(p. 170), and that they like the living could also share

1 Cf. among others, A. SCHWANE, Dogmengeschichte, Vol. II.
2nded. pp. 589-593, and the article, (^^(liturgisches) by KRIEG
in KRAUS, Realencyclopddie dcr Christl. Alterthiimer I. 563 et seq.

190 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

in the spiritual fruits of this fellowship. Several
of the fathers bring various arguments to prove that
these intercessions did really benefit the departed.
St. Cyril of Jerusalem endeavoured to refute those
who doubted whether the commemoration of souls
who had departed this life, with or without sin, at the
eucharistic sacrifice could do them any good. He
appeals by way of proof to the comparison of a king
whom the relatives of those who have been banished
petition for their pardon. In the same way, he says,
do we pray God for the dead, even when they have
been sinners, while we offer Christ, who was slain for
our sins, in order that God may be propitiated for them
and for us. 1 The underlying conviction is that God
pardons the sins which have stained departed souls
for the sake of prayer and the eucharistic sacrifice, and
remits their punishment. In the same way St. John
Chrysostom exhorts his hearers to bring practical help,
no matter how little, to departed sinners by praying
for them themselves, by begging others to pray for them,
and by constantly giving alms to the poor on their
behalf. He quotes the passage from 4 Kings xx. 6 :
" I will protect this city for my own sake and for

1 CYRILLUS HIER., Catechesis myst. V. 10 (ed. Rupp, II. p.
386) : Olda yap TroXXoi)? TOVTO \yovres ri c50eXeZrcu

v dTraAXacrcro/xej ?? roude TOV KOfffJLOV ?} ov /med d/
4rl T?)S Trpoffevxfc /jLvrjfAovev rjTan. ; Spa yap et rts fiacnXevs
avri^ e^ophrrovs iroiTjcreiev, eZra oi rovrots dcafiepovres,
, virep r&v tv Tiftupiais avrt^ TOVTOV TrpoaevtyKOiev, OVK &v
&ve&lt;rLV dip-r) T&V KoXd/reuv ; TOV aurbv rpbtrov Kdl ^/uets inrp T&V
v avry rots 5e^(rets Trposfapovres K&V dyttaprwXoi c5cr/, ov
^/coyuei , dXXd Xpiffrbv ^a(f&gt;ayi.aa^vov virtp TWJ/ 7)/j.eTtpuv
a/j.apTr)/j.dTwv irpo^po^ev, ti\ev6/Jievoi virtp O.VT&V re Kal ^wf TOV

IN THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 191

David my servant s sake," and explains it as a proof
of the virtue of these good works. "If indeed the
mere memory of a just man avails so much, how
can the performance of good works for a departed
soul fail to have effect ? " Then he alludes to " the
ordinance instituted by the apostles to commemorate
the departed at the celebration of the eucharistic
mysteries ; they knew well how great profit flowed there
from. When the whole people stands with uplifted
hands with the entire host of the priests and the dread
sacrifice lies in the altar, how can we fail to soften God s
heart towards them ? " He adds, this avails only for
those who have departed in the true faith ; with
regard to catechumens, he can see only the possibility
of obtaining alleviation for their souls by giving alms
on their behalf. 1 The utility of prayers for the dead
at the eucharistic sacrifice is thus bound up with
membership in the Church, thus showing how in
Chrysostom s mind this highest and best manner of
aiding departed souls formed part of the spiritual
fellowship between the members of the Lord s body.
In another passage he says so distinctly. He is
speaking against unrestrained grief over the death of
friends and relatives, even when they have been
sinners. "Did he die as a sinner," he asks, " then
thou shouldst rejoice that his life of sin is now cut
short, and that he can no longer add to his load of
guilt ? Thou shouldst as much as possible come to

1 JOANNES CHRYS., Honi. Ill, in episf. ad Philipp. 4 (MIGNE,
P. G. LXII. 203 et seq.\ Cf. horn. XXI. in Actus Apost. 4
(MiGNE, P. G. LX. 170-171); in Joan. horn. LXII. 5 (MiGNE,
P, G. LIX. w etseq.).

192 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

his assistance, not with tears, but with prayers and
entreaties, with alms and sacrifices. For not without
reason is it so appointed ; not in vain do we com
memorate the dead at the celebration of the divine
mysteries, and approach the altar on their behalf, and
implore the Lamb there present who takes away the
sin of the world ; for there is some relief given to the
dead thereby." Further on he appeals to Job s
sacrifice for his children, and adds : " God is gracious
towards one man for another s sake." He then
returns to the intercessions at the eucharistic sacrifice
and establishes their utility in the following manner ;
" Therefore we pray confidently for the whole world
and remember the dead along with the martyrs,
along with the confessors and priests. For we are
all one body, although one member is more honour
able than another, and it is possible for us by prayers
and sacrifices, and by the intercessions of those whose
names we mention with the rest to obtain for them
full forgiveness." l The preacher here emphasizes
another activity of that fellowship which finds expres
sion in the fact that the names of the dead were
mentioned along with those of the martyrs and saints,
with the object of procuring for the departed souls
the intercession of the latter. We shall deal more at
length with this point later on. St. Augustine also
brings forth proofs that the alms and prayers offered
for departed souls at the sacrifice were of practical
benefit to them. He appeals to the tradition of the
fathers and the universal practice of the Church in

1 JOAN. CHRYS., Hm. XLL in epist. i ad. Cor. 4-5 (MiGNE,
P. G. LXI. 360-61),

IN THE ANCIENT CHUKCH. 193

commemorating them at the eucharistic sacrifice, and
since the prayers for them are not offered in vain, we
must not doubt that works of mercy, by which souls
are commended to God, are equally beneficial to
them. There can be no doubt that prayers and good
works benefit .the dead who have lived in such a way
that they can benefit them. 1 And it is these meritor
ious works alone which have power to aid the dead ;
all external arrangements at the burial and at the
memorial celebration of the dead avail them nothing.
The conviction was universal in the Church that
departed souls were assisted by the above mentioned
means. The passage from St. Cyril already quoted

1 AUG., Sermo clxxii. 2 (MlGNE, P. L. XXXVIII, 936 et
seg.) : Orationibus sanctas Ecclesias et sacrificio salutari et
eleemosynis, qua* pro eorurn spiritibus erogantur, non est
dubitandum mortuos adjuvari, ut cum eis misericordius agatur
a Domino, quam eorum peccata meruerunt. Hoc enim a
patribus traditum, universa observat Ecclesia, ut pro eis, qui in
corporis et sanguinis Christi communione defunct! sunt, cum ad
ipsum sacrificium loco suo commemorantur, oretur ac pro illis
quoque id offerri commemoretur. Cum vero eorum com-
rnemorandorum causa opera misericordiae celebrantur, quis eis
dubitet suffragari, pro quibus orationes Deo non inaniter
allegantur? Non omnino ambigendum cst, ista prodesse
defunctis, sed talibus qui ita vixerint ante mortem, ut possint
eis haec utilia esse post mortem. Nam qui sine fide quae per
dilectionem operatur (Galat. v. 6), ej usque sacramentis de
corporibus exierunt, frustra illis a suis hujus modi pietatis
impenduntur officia, cujus dum hie essent pignore caruerunt,
vel non suscipientes vel in vacuum suscipientes Dei gratiam, et
sibi non misericordiam thesaurizantes sed iram. Non ergo
mortuis nova merita comparantur, cum pro eis boni aliquid
operantur sui, sed eorum praecedentibus consequentia ista
redduntur.

194 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

(p. 190) does indeed refer to persons who denied this,
and raised objections to the practice of prayers for the
dead such as we find in the second of the questions
addressed to St. Augustine by Dulcitius. Dulcitius
objects that only a man s own deeds can bring him
good or ill, moreover if others can confer benefits on
the souls in the next world, then one must also grant
that the departed themselves can obtain their own
relief by confessing their sins. 1 St. Augustine replies
by sending two extracts from his writings, " De cura
pro mortuis" and the " Enchiridion," which we shall dis
cuss more particularly later on. Apart from objec
tions raised in particular quarters, we do not find that
prayers for the dead were opposed on principle, or ever
abandoned in practice within the Catholic. Church.
On the contrary, all ecclesiastical writers without
exception who at all touch upon the question justify
the belief and the religious practices to which it gave
rise. The one person, as far as we know, who definitely
pronounced against prayers and good works for the
dead was Ae rius, who was ordained priest in 360 by
the semi-arian bishop Eusthatius of Sebaste in Armenia,
and then, in opposition to his former friend, founded a
sect of his own. Epiphanius wrote against his errors,

1 AUG., De octo Diddtii quastionibus, 2 (MiGNE, P. L. XL.
157): Secunda tua quaestio est ; utrum oblatio quae fit pro
quiescentibus aliquid eorum conferat animabus ; cum evidenter
nostris aut sublevernur actibus, aut gravemur ; si quidem
legamus, quod in inferno nemo jam possit Uomino confiteri.
Ad quod multi dicunt quod si aliquis beneficii in hoc locus
possit esse post mortem, quanto magis sibi anima ferret ipsa
refrigerium, sua per se illic confitendo peccata, quam in eorum
refrigerium ab aliis oblatio procurator?

IN THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 195

among which was the condemnation of prayers for the
dead. He admitted that the commemoration of the
dead did good to the living inasmuch as it strengthened
their belief in the future life, and was an expression of
the hope that it was well with the departed. As far
as concerns the dead, the " memento " availed for
those who had been stained with sin ; the just and the
saints were mentioned in order to honour Christ. 1
Moreover it is certainly the Church s tradition to do
so.

The next question is, what souls can derive benefit
from this intercession? It is plain, in the first place,
that the presentation of the eucharistic sacrifice and
the prayers for the dead which accompanied it could
avail only for the faithful, for these prayers were offered
only for members of the Church. St. John Chrysostom
excludes the catechumens ; in his opinion alms-giving
is the sole way of assisting them. 2 He draws no dis
tinction among the faithful themselves, even "those
who had died members of the kingdom without

1 EPIPFIANIUS, Adv. hcereses lib. III. haer. Ixxv. 8 (MlGNE,
P. G. xlii. 5 1 3) : "ETretra 5 TTC/H rou ovo/j-ara A^yetv TUV Te\evTr}crdvTui&gt;,
ri av eft? TOVTOV irpovpyiaiTepov ; . . u&gt;0eAet 5e /cat r\ virtp ai/Tut&gt;

yivo/j^vtj tvxili ^ Ka -i- ra o\a ruv aiTia/jt-druv /ATJ curo/a$7rror d\X ovv
ye dia rb TroAAd/cts iv Kfopqi r^as cWas cr0d\Aecr0cu d/coucriws re /ecu
e/cowri ws, tva TO cvTf\tffTepov (ry/j.av6rj. Kai yap St/fatcov irotovjj.c6a rrjv
fj.vfifj.riv ^ teal virep djuaprwAcD^ virp /j.v d/xaprwAcDi inrep ^A^oi/s deov
deo/J-evoi, VTrep 6e dixaidw /cat irarepuv /cat irarpiapx^iv, irpcxfiriT&v /cat
a7rcxrr6Au&gt;i Kal evayyeXiffruv /cat /^aprvpwv /cat o/ioAcry^ruiv, ^TrKTKOirjjv
re /cat avax^p^T^v Kai iravrbs TOU rdyfj-aros, tVa TUV KvpLov Ir)&lt;rovi&gt;
XpiffTOV d(f&gt;opl(T(*}/j.cv airb T^J r&v avOpuiruv raews 5ta TT/J -rrpbs avrbv
Tifj,TJ$, /cat cr^/3a? avrui aTroSw^tev, iv ivvola. 8vrS, 6 rt OVK ivr
6 Kvptos ri.vl r&v avdpuiruv, K&V T fjLvpia Kal eirtKeiva tv

2 Vide ante, p. 191.

196*c- THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

thought of using the kingdom for their soul s health,
who rejected the opportunities offered them of washing
themselves clean from their sins," even these he seems
to consider as capable of receiving help from the
Church s prayers, because they departed this life in the
true faith. 1

St. Augustineexpresseshimselfwith the utmost clear
ness. In his opinion only the departed who belong-
to the Church derive benefit from these intercessions :
this is an inevitable consequence of his teaching on
election. Who does not belong to the kingdom of
God cannot be saved, for the Church is the sum
of all those upon whom the virtue of Christ s saving
death has taken effect. The Church does not pray
for the unbelieving and ungodly departed. 2 There is a
presumption in favour of all members of the Church
that they will belong to God s everlasting kingdom,
and so the Church prays at the eucharistic celebration
for all the dead who have been her members. 3 By

1 Cf. the whole passage in the fourth homily on Philippians
(MlGNK, P. G. LXIL, 203 et seq.\

2 AUG., de civitate Dei, XXI. 24 (MlGNE, P. L. XLI. 737) :
Eadem itaque causa est, cur non oretur tune (at the last judg
ment) pro hominibus aeterno igne puniendis, quae causa est, ut
neque nunc neque tune oretur pro angelis malis ; quae itidem
causa est, ut quamvis pro hominibus, tamen jam nee nunc
oretur pro infidelibus itnpiisque defunctis. Nam pro defunctis
quibusdam vel ipsius Ecclesiae vel quorumdam piorum exau-
ditur oratio ; sed pro his, quorum in Christo regeneratorum
nee usque adeo vita in corpore male gesta est ut tali miseri-
cordia judicentur digni non esse, nee usque adeo bene, ut
talem misericordiam reperiantur necessarian! non habere.

3 AUG., de civitate Dei, XXI. 24 (MlGNE, P. L. XLI., 737) :
Hsec igitur causa, qua fit ut nunc Ecclesia non oret pro malis

TN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 197

praying for all, the Church, as the pious mother of all
the faithful, conies to the aid of those departed ones
who have no relations or friends to pray or give^alms
for them, and who after death have nothing to count
upon except the general commemoration of the de
parted at the celebration of the liturgy. 1 As a con
sequence of this, the private intercessions of the faithful
for the dead can also include all members of the
Church. Yet it depends upon the life which each
departed soul has led, whether or not these inter-

angelis, quos suos esse novit inimicos, eadem ipsa causa est
qua fiet ut in illo tune judicio etiam pro hominibus asterno igne
cruciandis,quamvis perfectae sit sanctitatis,non oret. Nunc enim
propterea pro eis orat, quos in genere humano habet inimicos,
quia tempus est pcenitentias fructuosae. . . Denique si de
aliquibus ita certa esset, ut qui sint illi etiam nosset, qui licet
adhuc in hac vita sint constituti, tamen praedestinati sunt in
asternum ignem ire cum diabolo, tarn pro eis non oraret quam
nee pro ipso. Sed quia de nullo certa est, orat pro omnibus
duntaxat hominibus inimicis suis in hoc corpore constitutis,
nee tamen pro omnibus exauditur. Pro his enim solis exau-
ditur, qui etsi adversantur Ecclesiae, ita sunt tamen prsedestinati
ut pro eis exauditur Ecclesia et filii efficiantur Ecclesiae. Si
qui antem usque ad mortem habebunt cor impcenitens, nee ex
inimicis convertentur in filios, numquid jam pro eis, id est pro
talium defunctorum spiritibus orat Ecclesia? Quid ita, nisi
quia jam in parte diaboli computatur qui, dum esset in corpore,
non est translatus in Christum ?

1 AUG., de cura pro mortuis gerenda, 4 (MlGNE, P. L. XL.
596) : Verum et si aliqua necessitas vel humari corpora, vel in
talibus locis humari nulla data facultate permittat non sunt
praetermittendae-supplicationes pro spiritibus mortuorum ! quas
faciendas pro omnibus in Christiana et catholica societate
defunctis etiam tacitis nominibus eorum sub generali com-
memoratione suscepit Ecclesia ; ut quibus ad ista desunt
parentes, aut filii, aut quicumque cognati vel amici, ab una eis
exhibeantur pia matre communi.

198 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

cessions obtain any assistance for it, z&gt;., whether it has.
deserved in life to be assisted after death or not. St.
Augustine distinguishes between three classes of men :
those whose life was neither so good as to dispense
with this assistance after death, nor so bad as to render
all help unavailing ; those whose life was so good and
perfect as not to require these intercessions ; and those,
finally, whose life had been so bad that nothing can be
of any use to them after their departure from this
world. And so, when the sacrifice of the altar and
alms are offered for all departed who have received
baptism, it is as a sacrifice of thanksgiving for the
perfect, a propitiation for those who have been not
altogether bad, while to the altogether bad it brings
no assistance at all, but only consolation to the
living. 1 Intercessions then avail in any case for all
the departed who have definitely belonged to the
Church, and who shall at the last day be finally incor-

1 AUG., Enchiridion^ no (MiGNE, P. L. XL. 283): Neque
negandum est defunctorum animas pietate suorum viventium
relevari, cum pro illis sacrificium Mediatoris offertur, vel
eleemosynee in Ecclesia fiunt. Sed eis hasc prosunt, qui cum
viverent, ut hsec sibi postea possint prodesse, meruerunt. Est
enim quidam vivendi. modus, nee tarn bonus ut non requirat ista
post mortem, nee tarn malus ut non ei prosint ista post mortem
est vero talis in bono, ut ista non requirat ; et est rursus talis in
malo, ut nee his valeat, cum ex hac vita transient, adjuvari.
Quocirca hie omne meritum comparatur, quo possit post hanc
vitam relevari quispiam vel gravari. . . . Cum ergo sacri-
ficia sive altaris sive quarumcumque eleemosynarum pro
baptizatis defunctis omnibus offeruntur, pro valde bonis grati-
arum actiones sunt ; pro non valde malis propitiationes sunt ;
pro valde malis etiamsi nulla sunt adjumenta mortuorum,
qualescumque vivorum consolationes sunt.

IN THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 199

porated in God s heavenly kingdom. Those who at
the end of the world shall be definitely excluded from
the kingdom of God can receive no help from it. The
passage, in which St. Augustine teaches that the souls
who derive benefit from prayers obtain therefrom either
complete forgiveness or have their condemnation
rendered more endurable, 1 evidently refers not to the
lost, who belong to the kingdom of the devil, but to the
souls who have to endure punishment in the future life
before the last judgment without being definitely cut
off from the kingdom of God. It is this class to whom
the saint refers in the preceding chapter of his
Enchiridion. 2 In this connection may be mentioned
St. Augustine s opposition to some who believed that
God would pardon all sinners at the last judgment in
answer to the prayers of His saints, who, the holier
they are, pray the more earnestly for their enemies, and
are the more deserving of being heard since they are
entirely free from sin themselves. The great theologian
energetically attacks this opinion, and brings various
arguments against it which we have already partially
dealt with. His principal argument is that prayers are
not offered for those who have been condemned to
eternal punishment, for the same reason that no one
prays for the evil angels, viz., because they are con-

1 Enchiridion, no (MlGNE, P. L. XL. 283): Quibus autem
prosunt, aut ad hoc prosunt, ut sit plena remissio, aut certe ut
tolerabilior fiat ipsa damnatio.

2 Enchiridion, 109 (MlGNE, ibid.} : Tempus antem quod
inter hominis mortem et ultimam resurrectionem interpositum
est, animas abditis receptaculis continet, sicut unaquaque digna
est vel requie vel asrumna, pro eo quod sortita est in carne cum
viveret.

200 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

demned to everlasting punishment in accordance with
the decisions of Christ Himself. 1

St. Augustine describes in various ways how de
parted souls can obtain help through the prayers
of the living. Forgiveness has regard to those sins
with which the soul was burdened when it passed
into the future life. 2 This implies that the sufferings
which souls have to undergo in the future life are
lessened, since God, in answer to the intercessions of
the Church and the faithful, pardons those sins on
account of which they suffer. 3 Furthermore, we find
petitions that God would receive the souls of the
departed, 4 and we still meet with the idea common in
the preceding period that the evil one places himself by

1 AUG., de civilate Dei XXI. 24 (MiGNE, P. L. XLI. 736-741).
In addition to the passages already quoted from this section,
the following must be noted : Sicut etiam facta resurrectione mor-
ttiorum non deerunt quibus post poenas, quas patiuntur spiritus
mortuorum, impertiatur misericordia, ut in ignem non mittantur
aeternum. Neque enim de quibusdam veraciter diceretur, quod
non eis remittatur neque in hoc saeculo neque in futuro (St.
Matth. xii. 32), nisi essent quibus etsi non in isto, tamen
remittetur in futuro. Sed cum dictum fuerit a judice vivorurn
atque mortuorum: "Venite, benedicti Patris mei etc." (St.
Matth. xxv. 34, 41, 46), nimias prassumptionis est dicere,
cuiquam eorum aeternum supplicium non futurum, quos Deus
ittiros in supplicium dixit seternum, et per hujus prassumptionis
persuasionem facere ut de ipsa quoque vita vel desperetur vel
dubitetur aeterna.

2 Cf. in addition to many of the passages already quoted :
JOAN. CHRYS., in Joan. horn. LXII. 5 (MIGNE, P. G. LIX. 347
et seq.) ; AMBROSIUS, de excessu fratris sui Satyri, I. 5 (MiGNE,
P. L. XVI. 1348).

3 Vide ante, p. 1 90.

4 For example, GREGOR. NAZ., Oratio VII. in laudein Ccesarii
fratris, 24 (Migne, P. G. XXXV. 787).

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 201

the soul at its departure from this world, and so these
petitions mean that God may protect the soul from
his assaults. 1 The representations which the fathers
give on this point naturally agree with their views on
eschatological questions in general. It is not within
our province to go further into this particular point. 2

The different kinds of intercessions mentioned by
the writers of this period may be reduced to four : (i)
The private prayers of the faithful. These are not
merely spoken of in passing, 3 but we are able to learn
the nature of their contents in general from the
intercessions frequently introduced by bishops into
the conclusions of funeral sermons. The formulae and
expressions here employed, apart from their oratorical
dress, are doubtless taken from those in common use. 4
(2) The eucharistic sacrifice, with the intercessions
offered up by the clergy and people assisting thereat. 5

1 Cf. for example, AUGUSTINUS, Conf. 13, where he says of
his deceased mother : Nemo a protectione tua dirumpat earn.
Non se interponat nee vi nee insidiis leo et draco. AMBROSIUS,
de excessu fratris sui Satyri, I. 29 (MlGNE, P. L. XVI. 1356).

2 The answer to the question if souls can now attain to
perfect bliss through the prayers of others depends upon
the view whether or not souls can attain to a final state of
blessedne-s at all before the last judgment. Cf. for example,
AUGUSTINUS, Qucest. evang. II. 38, on Lazarus (MlGNE, P. L.
XXXV. 1351), where he has some remarks about the relief
given to the dead by prayer in general.

3 Cf. vide ante, p. 190 et scq.

4 Eg., AMBROSIUS, de excessu Satyri, I. 80 ; GREG. NAZ.,
Oratio in latidem Ccesarii, 24 ; MlGNE, P. G. XXXV. 787.

5 Vide ante, p. 190 et seqq. Cf. EUSEBIUS, de vita Constantini,

IV. 71 (ed. Heinichen, II. 189). CYRILL. HIER., Catech. myst.

V. 9-10. GREG. NAZ., in laud. Cwsarii, 17. AMBROSIUS, de
excessu Satyri, I. I ; II. 2 ; de obitu Theodosii, 3 ; de obita

202 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

(3) Almsgiving, by which is chiefly to be understood
the funeral agape at which the poor were fed. There
is no doubt that alms were regarded as a means of
obtaining God s protection and pardon for sins for de
parted souls. The statements of St. John Chrysostom
and St. Augustine are quite clear and definite. The
benefit to the souls came partly from alms being in
themselves a work well pleasing to God, and partly
because the poor felt all the more bound to pray for
the dead in return for the kindness shewn to them. 1
These funeral agapes on the festival of martyrs and at
eucharists celebrated for the departed led to great
abuses, degenerating into orgies at which many gave
way to immoderate eating and drinking. 2 These
feasts also gave rise to the idea among the uneducated
that the dead themselves could find pleasure in the

Valentiniani) I. ; ep. ad Faustinum, XXXIX. 4. JOAN. CHRYS.,
in Act. Apost. horn. XXI. 4 (MiGNE, P. L. LX. 170 et seq.].
ZENO, I. tract. XVI. 6 (MiGNE, P. L. XL 378). AUG., Con-
fessio?ies, IX. 12, 13, where, amongst other things, we read:
Meminerint curn affectu pio parentum meorum in hac luce
transitoria et fratrum meorum sub te patre in matre catholica
et civium meorum in aeterna Jerusalem, cui suspirat peregrinatio
populi tui ab exitu usque ad reditum.

1 Cf. ante, p. 195 et seq. AMBROSIUS, de excessu fratris, I. 5
(MIGNE, P. L. XVI. 1348): especially JOAN. CHRYS., in Act.
Apost. horn. XXI. 3 (MiGNE, P. G. LX. 169) ; AUGUSTINUS,
Enchiridion, no (MiGNE, P. L. XL. 283).

2 AUG., De moribus Ecclence, I. 34 (MiGNE, P. L. XXXII.
1342) ; Nolite mihi colligere professores nominis christiani, nee
professionis suae vim aut scientes aut exhibentes. . . . Novi
multos esse sepulchrorum et picturarnm adoratores ; novi
multos esse qui luxuriosissime super mortuos bibant et epulas
cadaveribus exhibentes, super sepultos seipsos sepeliant et
voracitates ebrietatesque suas deputent religion!.

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 203

enjoyment of the food and drink placed upon their
tombs. This form of superstition probably arose
from the fact that the viands for the poor at the
agape were placed on the graves of the martyrs, and
even of others, in the cemetery churches, when the
form of these monuments allowed of it. The remem
brance of heathen funeral feasts helped to increase
these superstitious ideas. Nevertheless such remem
brances did not give rise to the idea that the dead
might be helped by alms, for this opinion is part of
the entire development of the doctrine which we are
discussing. St. Augustine condemns these abuses in
different passages of his writings and did his best to
put an end to them in Africa. 1 (4) We must deal at
greater length with the fourth way of helping souls, as
it has special bearings on our subject : the invoca
tion of the martyrs on behalf of the dead. We have
seen how in the monuments in the Roman catacombs
as early as the third century, saints (the apostles and
martyrs) appear as the patrons of departed souls with
God, and how on this account the departed were
commended to them (vide ante, p. 115 et seqq.}. This
view became more deeply rooted in the Church as the
worship of the martyrs increased during the fourth
and fifth centuries. It finds frequent expression in
the writings and epitaphs of the period, and led to
the custom of placing the bodies of the dead as close
as possible to a martyr s grave, in the hope that the
martyrs would be the more moved to take an interest

1 Confessiones, VI. 2 (MlGNE, P. L. XXXII. 719); epist.
xxii. 6 (ibid. XXXIII. 92); contra Fanstum. XX. 21 (MlGNE,
XLII. 384

204 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

in them. In one of the poems of Gregory of Nazianzum
in memory of Caesarius, he directly invokes the
martyrs close to whose tombs his brother had been
buried to be gracious to him and to receive him into
their bosom. 1 St. John Chrysostom commemorates
the dead along with the martyrs and confessors at the
eucharist in order that the departed souls may obtain
full forgiveness of their sins through the intercession
of the saints. 2 In many inscriptions of the fourth and
fifth centuries the martyrs are directly invoked for their
intercessions on behalf of the person commemorated
in the inscription. Thus in the catacomb of Prae-
textatus there is an inscription scraped on the still
soft plaster of a loculus in the crypt of St. Januarius :

mi refrigeri( refrigerant) Januarius, Agatopus,
Felicissimus martyres. 3

The missing words at the beginning were plainly
the word "spiritui," or some similar word, with the
name of the deceased, which ended in " mi."

A Roman inscription preserved in the museum at
Naples concludes with the words :

Sancte Laurenti, suscepta(m) (h)abeto anim(am . . . ). 4
Another, formerly in the church of St. Prassede in

1 GREGOR. NAZ., Epitaphia. In Ccesarium, XX. (MIGNE,
P. G. XXXVIII. 20 etseg.) :

lYiroves, ev/meveoire /ecu ev K&\TOlffl 5^xoi&lt;r$e,
Md/&gt;ru/&gt;es, virerepois al/ma TO Tpyyopiov,
Tpyyopiov $6vv7]s re fAcya,K\os evcrefiirj re
Kcu rv/Jifiois iepois eis ev dyeipo/J.vovs.

2 Vide ante, p. 192.

3 DE ROSSI, Bullettino di arch, crist., 1863, p. I et seqq.

4 MOMMSEN, Inscriptiones regni Neapolitani, 6736.

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 205

Rome, but belonging originally to one of the catacombs,
runs as follows :

Sancti Petre, Alarcelline, suscipite vestrum alumnum. 1

We find similar inscriptions in different parts of the
Roman Empire. The following Christian tombstone
was discovered at Die in France :

Hie Dalmata Cristi morte redemtus quiiscit (sic) in pace
et diem futuri judicii intercedentebus (sic) sanctis letus
spectit. 2

In an inscription from Syria, St. George is invoked
in the following words to grant rest to the souls of
Scholasticius and his brother Comes :

"Ayte Tetiopyie, 7rpo&lt;rSeai /ecu ^\O\U&lt;TTLKLOV TOV

avaTravvov

The burial places of the martyrs and the basilicas
erected by their graves give the clearest proof of this
desire of the faithful to rest after death as close as
possible to the venerated tomb. In every vacant spot
we find graves. Very often the decorations of the
sepulchral chambers are destroyed in order to make
way for fresh graves near the martyr s tomb. We
can scarcely doubt that the uneducated superstitiously
expected to obtain help and protection for the departed
souls by the mere material proximity of their grave to
the remains of a martyr.

1 DE Rossi, Bullettino, 1875, P- 3-

2 LE BLANT, Inscriptions chrttiennes de la Gaule, II. p. 198,
No. 478.

3 LE BAS, Voyage. Inscriptions III. partie I. p. 480, No.
1981.

206 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

It is well known how St. Augustine had occasion
to express his opinions on this point in reply to an
enquiry of St. Paulinus of Nola. A Christian widow,
Flora, had requested the bishop of Nola to allow her
son, Cynegius, to be buried in the basilica of St. Felix.
This moved Paulinus to ask St. Augustine what
benefit he thought could come to the departed
through being buried close to a martyr s grave. At
the same time he placed before him another difficulty
concerning prayers for the dead in general. 1 With
regard to the first question, it is plain from St-
Paulinus letter, to which Augustine refers, that the
former regarded the mere fact of seeking a grave near
a martyr s tomb as expressing the survivor s con
fidence in the martyr s intercession, which confidence,
he considered, might obtain the martyr s special pro
tection for the deceased in the world to come. 2 This

1 AUGUSTINUS, De cura pro mortuis gerenda, I. (MiGNE,
P. L. XL. 592 et seq.} : Nam dicis videri non esse inanes motus
animorum religiosorum atque fidelium pro suis ista cuvantium.
Adjungis etiam vacare non posse, quod universa pro defunctis
Ecclesia supplicare consuevit : ut huic et illud conjici possit,
homini prodesse post mortem, si fide suorum humando ejus
corpori talis provideatur locus, in quo appareat opitulatio etiam
isto modo qusesita sanctorum. Sed cum haec ita sint, quomodo
huic opinion! contrarium non sit, quod dicit apostolus : " Omnes
enim astabimus ante tribunal Christi, ut ferat unusquisque
secundum ea quae per corpus gessit, sive bonum, sive malum "
(2 Cor. v. 10), non te satis videre significas.

2 Cf. PAULINUS NOT., Poema XXXV. de obitu Celsi pueri,
603-610 (MiGNE, P. L. LXI. 689).

Credimus aeternis ilium tibi ; Celse, viretis

Lastitiae et vitae ludere participem,
Quern Complutensi mandavimus urbe, propinquis

Conjunctum tumuli feed ere martyribus ;

IN THE ANCIENT OHUECH. 207

view was certainly common among Christians. St.
Augustine gives his opinion on the question as follows :
by the proximity of the martyr s tomb, the survivors
will be reminded to invoke the holy martyrs in their
prayers on behalf of the departed souls. 1 This is the
only benefit to be gained for the departed from the
martyr s tomb, the material proximity by itself avails
nothing apart from the intercessions. 2 He then
emphasizes the truth that the departed must have
lived so as to be capable to deriving benefit after death
from the intercessions of others. In another con
nection Eusebius had already expressed the same
opinion. In his description of the funeral of Con-
stantine the Great, after speaking of the prayers of

Ut de vicino sanctorum sanguine ducat,
Quo nostras illo purget in igne animas.

Forte etenim nobis quoque peccatoribus olim
Sanguinis haec nostri guttula lumen erit.

1 AUG., De cura pro mortuis gerenda, 4 (MiGNE, P. L. XL.
596) : Sed cum talia vivorum solatia requiruntur, quibus eorum
pius in suos animus appareat, non video quas sunt adjumenta
rnortuorum, nisi ad hoc ut durn recolunt ubi sint posita eorum
quos diligunt corpora, eisdem sanctis illos tanquam patronis
susceptos apud Dominum adjuvandos orando commendent.
Quod quidem facere possent, etiamsi talibus locis eos hum are
non possent. . . . Cum itaque recolit animus ubi sepultum
sit carissimi corpus, et occurrit locus nomine martyris venerabilis,
eisdem martyri animam dilectam commendat recordantis et
peccantis affectus. Qui cum defunctis a fidelibus carissimis
exhibetur, eum prodesse non dubium est iis, qui cum in corpore
viverent, talia sibi post hanc vitam prodesse meruerunt. Cf. 5
(ibid. 597).

2 Ibid. Si autcm deessent ista? supplicationes, qua: fiunt recta
fide ac pietate pro mortuis, puto quod nihil prodesset spiritibus
eorum quamlibet in locis sanctis exanima corpora ponerentur.

208 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

clergy and people for his soul, he dwells upon the fact
that the emperor s body was buried near the tomb of
the apostles in the apostles church in accordance
with his own wish : " The tabernacle of his most
blessed soul enjoyed companionship with the name
and honour of the apostles, and was associated with
the people of God in the church, participating in
the holy service and mystic sacrifice, and sharing
in the holy prayers." l The emperor s biographer
evidently means that the eucharistic sacrifice, and the
prayers offered in the apostles church, will benefit
Constantine s soul, and that the position of the grave
in so holy a spot is instrumental in obtaining all the
more prayers for him. An epitaph from the earliest
basilica of St. Lawrence in Agro Verano agrees with St.
Augustine s statements. It says of a departed Quiri-
ace : " Cuique pro vitse suae testimonium (sic) sancti
martyres apud Deum et Christum erunt advocati." 2

The poem on the grave of the archdeacon Sabinus,
brought to light in the same basilica, proclaims with
St. Augustine the need of commending oneself to the
saints by piety of life. " To be buried near a martyr s
tomb," says Sabinus, "avails nought but rather
oppresses." 3 Which means that by comparison with

1 EUSEBIUS, de vita Constantini, IV. 71 (ed. Heinichen, II.,
189 et seq.\

2 DE Rossi, Bullettino, 1864, p. 34 et seq.

3 DE Rossi, Bullettino, 1864, p. 33. The four lines in question
run as follows :

Nil juvat, immo gravat tumulis hoerere piorurn,
Sanctorum mentis optima vita prope est.
Corpore non opus est, anima tendamus ad illos,
Quse bene salva potest corporis esse salus.

IN THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 209

the martyr near whom the departed rests, the latter will
appear all the more unworthy. Still the power of the
martyr s intercessions is so little questioned that
Sabinus, according to De Rossi s restoration, invokes
St. Lawrence in the last lines of the inscription to
obtain for his soul its reception among the angelic
choirs.

And so we see how the close union of the faithful
with one another manifested itself in the universal
conviction that the souls of the saints in the next world
are able to assist their fellow-citizens in the kingdom
of God by their intercessions. The correlative of
prayers for the repose of departed souls is to ask the
intercessions of the departed for the living. We have
already found evidence for this practice of the Christian
people in the epitaphs of the third century. The
custom gradually led to other eminent members of the
Church besides apostles and martyrs being honoured as
saints in the strict sense of the word. The faithful
implored the intercession of those departed ones who
had been more closely related to them in life, and who
had also merited God s favour by their holy conversa
tion, being sure their mediation would obtain a more
ready hearing before God. It was this last considera
tion which had most weight, and led those of the faith
ful who had had no special relationship to the departed
in life to invoke their assistance as friends of God.
People were sure they had often received special help
from God through the intercession of these saints in
the same way as they did through the intercessions of
the martyrs. This increased their confidence and en
couraged them to implore their intercession all the

210 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

more. In this way the invocation of the dead, as
distinct from the martyrs, gradually led to other holy
personages being especially honoured as saints along
with them (see next chapter).

In this period we find evidence for this practice not
only among the Christian people, but also in the writ
ings of the greatest teachers of the Church. St.
Gregory Nazianzus has no doubt that his father can
be of more use to his flock after death by his prayers
than he was during life by his teaching and exhorta
tion, because he is now nearer God. 1 St. Gregory on
his mother s epitaph invokes her as well as his father
to save him by her prayers, for she has already often
helped him by appeasing God by her intercessions. 2
St. Ambrose in speaking of how his brother Satyrus
will commend him to God, uses the same expressions
as were formerly used in reference to the martyrs. 3 St.
Jerome, when consoling Paula for the death of her

1 GREGOR. NAZ., Oratio XVI II., funebris in patrem, 4
(MlGNE, P. G. XXXV. 989).

2 GREGOR. NAZ., Epitaphia. In viatrem ex altari assumptam
LXXXI. (MlGNE, P. G. XXXVIII. 53) :

IToAAd/as K /j,e voaiav re /cat apya\uv 6pv[j.a.y5C&gt;v
EeioyuDi re Kpvep&v, KO.L 017/310, Kv/j.aivovros
O tdfAaros ^e&lt;raa&gt;0-as, ^Tra 6eov iXaov elxes.
AAAa (raw /cat vvv /te, irdrep, /m,eyd\r](rL \irrjai,
Kat &lt;rv, reKovffa /x,a/cai/&gt;a, iv

Cf. also LXXVIII. (ibid. 52).

3 AMBROSIUS, De excessu fratris sui Satyri, I. 18 (MlGNE,
P. L. XVI. 1352) : Habeo plane pignus meum, quod nulla mibi
peregrinatio jam possit avellere ; habeo quas complectar
reliquias, habeo tumulum, quern corpore tegam, habeo sepul-
crum super quod jaceam ; et commendabiliorem Deo futurum
esse me credam, quod supra sancti corporis ossa requiescam.

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 211

daughter Blaesilla, assures her that the departed prays
for her, and even obtains for him the pardon of his
sins. 1 St. Damasus, alluding to the virginity of his
sister Irene, prays in her epitaph that she will be mind
ful of him at the coming of the Lord, and that her
torch will give him li^ht through the Lord. 2 These
examples show how this practice, founded on the belief
that the departed saints remained in intimate com
munion with the surviving fellow-citizens of God s
Kingdom, was diffused through all parts of the Church.

1 HlERON., epist. xxxix. ad Paulam super obitu Blcesilla
filicE, 6 (MlGNE, P. L. XXII. 472) : Loquitur ilia et alia multa,
quie taceo, et pro te Dominum rogat, mihique ut de ejus mente
securus sum, veniam impetrat peccatorum, quod monui, quod
hortatus sum, quod invidiam propinquorum ut salva esset
excepi.

2 DAMASUS, Epiqramma in kon. sororis (ed. Ihm, p. 15,
No. 10) :

Nunc veniente Deo nostri reminiscere, virgo,
Ut tua per Dominum prrestet mihi facula lumen.

212 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

CHAPTER IV.

THE WORSHIP AND INVOCATION OF THE SAINTS.

THE theological position concerning the saints of the
Church, i.e., both the righteous of the old covenant
and the martyrs (including the apostles), remained
essentially the same as in the preceding periods.
Three things in particular helped to establish the
particular position of the saints in the Church and the
consequent relation of the faithful to them. First, they
were perfectly holy followers of Christ, who during
their life-time had fulfilled in the most perfect manner
all that God requires from the members of his kingdom.
Secondly, they had, as a consequence of this, a special
place in the heavenly city, they were Christ s friends in
a higher sense than the rest of the elect, and enjoyed
greater glory and blessedness in heaven. Thirdly, it
followed from this that they were patrons and
mediators before God and Christ on behalf of the other
members of the mystical body of the Church, and
could obtain grace and help by their intercession for
the faithful both living and dead y From this position
of the saints, it followed that both the Church in her
official liturgical celebrations, and individual believers
in their private religious practices, manifested a
special respect and veneration towards them ; they
esteemed them as perfectly holy, and thanked God for
the grace and glory He had bestowed upon them ;

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 213

(the intercession of the saints was also invoked to pro
cure spiritual aids and graces, and at the same time to
obtain protection and deliverance in temporal
necessities. Lastly, they were held up as examples to
the faithful by the teachers of the Church and were
regarded by the people as such : the imitation of the
virtues they had displayed in their life and glorious
death was an incentive to a perfect Christian life. And
so the veneration of the saints is the perfect example
of the " Communio Sanctorum," z&gt;., of the pulsation
of the spiritual life circulating in all members of the
Church and binding them into one. 1

Bishops and doctors of the Church on all occasions,
and especially in the numerous sermons which have
come down to us preached on the commemorations of
the martyrs deaths, extolled the heroic martyrs in the
highest terms as perfect servants of Christ and the
glory of the Church. Their praises reveal the extent
of the veneration enjoyed by the martyrs throughout
the whole Church. A few of the most important
passages will be sufficient to give us an idea of how
glorious and venerable the martyrs were in the con
ception of the teachers of that time. St. Gregory
Nazianzus counts all of small importance compared
with the martyrs warfare ; and although Christians
have much to urge them to a better life, yet none the
less they require the martyrs to direct them to live
aright. He calls them " sacrifices endowed with

1 We can naturally merely touch upon this side of the
worship of the saints : the numerous questions, liturgical and
historical, bearing more or less directly on our subject cannot
be dealt with here.

214 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

reason, perfect sacrifices, oblations well pleasing and
agreeable to God, heralds of truth, vanquishers of lies,
fulfillers of the law which is spiritually to be under
stood, overthrowers of error, persecutors of evil, deluge
in which sin is destroyed, purification of the world."- 1
St. John Chrysostom no less enthusiastically extols
the death of the martyrs as " the exhortation of the
faithful, the confidence of the church, protection of
Christendom, destruction of death, proof of the
resurrection, disgrace of devils, denunciation of Satan,
doctrine of wisdom, summons to despise worldly
things, way towards longing after heavenly things,
consolation for the ills which surround us, incitement
to patience, opportunity for renunciation, the spring,
root, and origin of all benefits." 2 St. Hilary sees the
triumphant joy of the martyrs in the hills spoken of
along with the fields in Ps. Ixiv. 12-14, because the
hills are higher than the level fields. 3 Christ s martyr
is the Church s treasure, writes St. Ambrose, 4 and St.
Augustine beholds in the martyrs the true princes
of the churches, who receive the chief seats and sur-

1 GREGORj NAZ., Oratio XXIV. in laudem Cypriani martyris^
4 (MiGNE, P. G. XXXV. 1173) : . . . roaovrwv SVTUV ijfuv /ecu
TOIOVTOJV, ovdev ZXarrov T//UP els Traidayuyiav ol /xdprupes oAo/cai rw^aara
\oyiKa, OV^OLTO. rAeta, Trpoifpopal 5e/crdt, rrjs aXyOtias Kr)ptyjj,aTa, rov
\(/evdovs cTT^Xtre^yUara, voff^ov criiyUTr ATypwcm. rov ye TrvevTra.TiK&s
VOOV/ULI&gt;OV Tr\di&gt;r]s KaTa\v&lt;ris /ca/c/as 5iuy/j,bs, a^aprias Kara/cAuo-yUos,
Koapov K&lt;t9apai.ov.

2 JOANNES. CHRYS., de s. Droside mart. 2 (MiGNE, P. G.
L. 685).

3 HILARIUS, Tract, in Ps. LXIV. 17 (MiGNE, P. L. IX.
422).

4 AMBROSIUS, de virginitate, XVIII. 1 19 ( MIGNE, P. L. XVI
311).

IN THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 215

pass all others in holy dignity. 1 The whole church
participates in their honour ; " they fight, and the
faithful rejoice over it ; they have gained the crown
and the common glory, or rather the glory of the
whole Church," says St. Chrysostom. " And how does
this come to pass? Because the martyrs are parts
and members of ourselves." He gives an interpreta
tion of St. Paul s metaphor (i Cor. xii. 20 et seqq.)
pointing out that the martyrs are the head, and the
faithful of his own time the feet. Still this distinction
does not sever them from the rest of the faithful ;
" Since the Lord Himself was not ashamed to be our
head, they are still less, ashamed to be our members,
because they are rooted in love, and love unites what
is severed and takes very little care for honour." 2
And so the vital union which continues to bind
together the martyrs and the other believers causes
their honour to extend as it were to the whole Church
and the members thereof. We find the same thought
in St. Augustine, who counts it no small honour for
Christians that they are members of the same body as
the martyrs, although they may not be their equals. 3

1 AUGUSTINUS, Enarratio in Ps, LXVII. 36 (MiGNE, P. L.
XXXVI. 835) : . . . Quse omnia (V. 28) verissimos nobis
insinuant principes ecclesiarum, dignos ducatu, dignos imita-
tione, dignos honoribus. Martyres namque in ecclesiis locum
summum tenent atque apice sanctae dignitatis excellunt. Cf.
Enarr. in Ps. CXVIII. sermo ix. 2 (ibid. XXXVII. 1523).

2 JOAN. CHRYS., in s. Romanum mart. I i. ( MIGNE, P. G
L. 606.

3 AUG., Sernio cclxxx. in natali ss. Perpetuce et belicitatis
I. 6 (MiGNE, P L. XXXVIII. 1283): Non parva pars imita-
tionis est, meliorum congaudere virtutibus. Illi magni, nos
parvi ; sed benedixit Dominus pusillos cum magnis (Ps. CXI 1 1.

216 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

At the same time the teachers of the Church did not
fail to ascribe the honour paid to the martyrs, and the
veneration with which they were surrounded, to God
and Christ, for all the strength manifested by the
martyrs is referred back to God. In his sermon on St.
Cyprian, St. Augustine says : " Quid enim nisi Dei
suntlaudes tanti martyris laudes? .... Non ergo
recedimus a laudibus Dei quando laudamus opera
Dei et praelia Dei in milite Dei," x and the same idea
is repeatedly presented to the Christian people in
numerous passages of the writings of himself and other
teachers of that time. 2

The worship rendered by the Church to the martyrs
and other saints was closely bound up with the
eucharistic sacrifice, the solemn expression of the
Church s unity. Accordingly the Church com
memorated at it those of her members who had already
passed into the future life, " first the patriarchs,
prophets, apostles, martyrs, that God would at their
prayers and intercessions receive our supplication." 3
St. John Chrysostom regards it as a signal distinction
for the martyrs, even though they are martyrs, that

13) Prcecesserunt, praeeminucrunt. Si eos sequi non valemus
actu, sequamur affectu ; si non gloria, certe lastitia ; si non
meritis, votis ; si non passione, compassione ; si non excellentia,
connexione Non nobis parum videatur quod ejus corporis
membra sumus, cujus et illi, quibus requiparari non possumus.

1 AUG., Sermo cccxiii. in nat. Cypriani mart. 2 (MlGNE,
P. L. XXXVIII. 1423).

2 Cf. for example, BASILIUS M., hoin. in XL. wartyres, I.
(MiGNE, P. G. XXXI. 508). GREGOR. NAZ., Oratio XI. ad
Gregor. Nyss.&gt; 4 (ibid. XXXV. 836).

3 CYRILLUS HIEROS., Catcch. myst. V. 9 (eel. Rupp, II. 386).

IN THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 217

they should be named in the Lord s presence, while
His death, the tremendous sacrifice, the unspeakable
mysteries are being celebrated. 1 This manner of
honouring the martyrs found its chief manifestation in
the use of the martyr s tomb as an altar upon which
the eucharistic sacrifice was offered. In the fuller
development of the beliefs and practices which were
already in existence in the period before Constantine,
the martyr s grave became the chief object round which
his worship centred. 2 Nothing could call forth in so
lively manner the memory of him and his glorious
death as the spot where lay the body which had
suffered torments and death. Eusebius mentions
frequent visits to the martyrs graves, and prayers being
offered there and the veneration of the holy souls, as
a practice already universal. 2 From the time of
Constantine the Great churches were built over
the martyrs graves, care being taken so to
place the church that the altar in the apse was brought
into as close connection with the grave as was possible. 3
On the one hand, this was a proof of the veneration
already paid to the tomb, while, on the other, it tended
to. increase it, since now the magnificence of the build-

1 JOAN. CHRYS., in Act. apost. horn. XXI. 4 (MIGNE, P. G.
LX. 171).

2 EUSEBIUS, Preepar, Evang. XIII. 11 (MlGNE, P. G. XXI.
1096) : Kcu ravra 5e apfj.6ei tiri rfj T&V Oeo(f)i\wv reXevrrj, ovs crrpartwras
rrjs dXr/dovs evcrefieias OVK &v afAaprois tnrwv irapaXa./ui.(3dvecrOa.L. "QOev /ecu
tiri ras ^Tj/cas avruv 6os rjfji.iv Trapitvac, /ecu rds civets Tctpa Toi/rcus
Trotetcrflcu, Tifj.$i&gt; re ras jjLaitapias avruv i/a xds, ws v\6yus /cat rdvrwv v&lt;f&gt;

3 Cf. KlRSCH, Die christlichen Cultusgebaude im Alterthum^
Cologne, 1893, pp. 45 et seqq. : Die Crab-und Reliquienkirchen
vom IV. bis zum V \\.Jahrh.

218 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

ing and the decoration of the altar made a deep
impression on the people, and the divine service in the
churches was celebrated on the feasts of the martyrs
with greater solemnity and with the assistance of a
larger number of worshippers. In this way the altar
tomb became the principal object round which the
worship of the martyrs centred. The martyrs, as it
were, from their graves summoned the faithful to their
assemblies and to the eucharistic feast. 1 Preachers
refer to the great crowds of the faithful who hasten to
the churches of the martyrs there to pray and assist at
the festal celebration. 2 St. John Chrysostom points to
the graves of the martyrs as being also a means for
stirring up the souls of Christian people to imitate the
virtues of the saint who rests therein, Everyone who
stands by the grave will feel its influence ; the very
sight of the sarcophagus moves the soul and urges it
on to good deeds. 3 The great preacher then proceeds
to exhort the faithful to visit the holy tomb, not merely
on the day of the feast but on other days as well, in
order to experience for themselves the power of the
martyr s body which rests therein. 4 The annual feasts
in commemoration of celebrated martyrs, held in the
churches over their graves, were the occasion of great
festivities in which the bishops of neighbouring cities
took part ; they were an opportunity of giving practical

1 BASILIUS, Horn, in Barlaam martyrem, 1-2 (MlGNE, P. G.
XXXI. 484) ; cf. horn, in Gordium mart, \ (ibid. 489).

2 JOAN. CHRYS., Expos, in Ps. CXV. 5 ( MIGNE, P. G. LV.
326) ; in Ps. XLVIII. 8 (ibid. 512).

3 JOAN. CHRYS., de s. Babyla, 11 (MiGNE, P. G. L. 551) ; de
s. Droside mart. 2 (ibid. 685).

4 Ibid, de ss. Bernice et Prosdoce, 7 (ibid. 640).

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 219

expression to the communion existing between all
members of the Church. 1

Although the eucharistic celebration served in this
way to give expression to the veneration felt towards
the martyrs, since their names were mentioned at it
and their tombs were more and more associated with
the altar, still the sacrifice itself was not in any way
offered up to the martyrs, but to God alone. The
teachers of the Church endeavoured to prevent the
growth of all false views of this kind among their
people. St. Augustine in particular states in many
passages of his writings that temples were built and
sacrifices offered not to the martyrs but only to God,
to whom alone appertains the adoration of which
these things are the outward expression. The martyrs
are honoured in this way, their tombs are treated
with respect, as belonging to saints who have fought
for the truth unto death. The Manicheans, who
had already uttered the reproach brought against
the Church recently of making divinities and
heroes of the martyrs in the heathen sense of the
words, were answered by St. Augustine. 2 The

1 Cf. BASILIUS M., epist. xcv. (MIGNE, P. G. XXXII. 489) :
epist. clxxvi. {ibid. 653) ; epist. cclii. (ibid. 940) ; epist. cclxxxii.
(ibid. 1017).

2 AUGUSTINUS, Contra Faustum wanichceum, XX. 21 (MiGNE,
P. L. XLII. 384 et seq.}, where amongst other things he says :
Populus autem christianus memorias martyrum religiosa
solemnitate concelebrat et ad excitandam imitationem, et ut
meritis eorum consocietur atque orationibus adjuvetur ; ita
tamen ut nulli martyrum sed ipsi Deo martyrum, quam vis in
memoriis martyrum, constituamus altaria. Cf. De civitate Dei,
VIII. 27 ( MiGNE, P. L. XLI. 255 etseq..) , XXII. 10 (#/&lt;/. 772) ;
Sermo cccx. in natali Cypriani mart. II. 2 (P. L. XXXV 7 1 1 1.

220 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

resemblance of the cultus of the saints to the heathen
worship of the heroes is purely external and
accidental ; the infiltration of heathendom into the
Church still remains to be proved. The leaders of
the Church were as energetic in suppressing abuses
connected with the feasts of the martyrs as they were
in maintaining their due celebration. In particular,
they attacked the excesses attending the common
meal which formed part of these celebrations a
development of the funeral agape. 1

With the veneration of the martyrs tombs is
connected the veneration of their relics, which, when
properly understood and practised, was also a valuable
means of keeping alive the memory of the holy
martyrs, and of inspiring people with the desire to
invoke them. The teachers of the Church sanctioned
and promoted the veneration of relics, 2 and this in
turn aided in spreading the cultus of the martyrs,

1413) ; Sermo cclxxiii. in nat. Fructuosi ep. (&c.) 7 (ibid.
1251).

1 Vid. ante, p. 202 et seq. Cf. AMBROSIUS, Liber de Elia et
jcjunio, XVII. 62 (MIGNE, P. L. XIV. 754) ; GREGOR. NAZ.,
oratio XL ad Gregor. Nyss. 5 (MlGNE, P. G. XXXV. 837) ;
Carmina II. sect. II., Epigraminata, 26-29 (MlGNE, P. G.
XXXVIII. 97-98).

2 Cf. HILARIUS, Contra Constantium, 8 ( MIGNE, P. L. X. 584
et seq.}. JOANNES. CHRYS., de s. Droside mart. 2 ( MIGNE,
P. G. L. 686) ; de ss. Bernice et Prosdoce, 7 (ibid. 640) ; in
Maccabccos, I. i (ibid. 617, 6r8). GREGOR. NAZ., Contra
Julianum. or. I. 69 (MlGNE, P. G. XXXV. 589); or. II. 29
ibid. 700 et seq.} ; or. XXIV. in laudem Cypriani mart. 18 (ibid.
1192). BASILIUS, Horn, in XL. martyres, 8 (MlGNE, P. G.
XXXI. 521); epist. xlix. (ibid. XXXII. 385); epist. civ.
(ibid. 613) ; epist. clxiv. i (ibid. 633-636). GREGOR. NYSS.,
de s. Theodore mart. (MlGNE, P. G. XLVI. 740). Epist. Paula

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 221

since it was necessary to obtain relics to place in
the altar in churches where there was no tomb of a
martyr. By this means the feasts of celebrated
martyrs, which originally had been of local observance,
spread to other localities where some relic of the
martyr was preserved in the church. 1

When the memory of the martyrs was celebrated
at the eucharist, this, in the mind of the Church, did
not mean that prayers were offered to God for the
martyrs, but rather that their intercessions were
invoked in order through them to obtain a speedier
answer to prayers offered up to God. 2 The

et Eust ichii ad Marcellam, inter ep. HiERON., XLVI. 8
(MlGNE, P. L. XXII. 488). HlERONYMUS, Comm. in Isaiam,
XVIII. in cap. 65, 4-5 (ibid. XXIV. 657). AUGUSTINUS,
Sermo cccxvii. de. s. Stephano mart. IV. I (P. L. XXXVIII.
1435) ; Sermo cccxviii. de eodem, V. i (ibid. 1437) ; Sermo
cclxxvii. i (ibid. 1258), where amongst other things we find the
following : Prasstitit ergo sanctc/rum corpora ecclesiis suis ad
memorias orationum, non ad glorias martyrum.

1 Cf. the author s pamphlet : Die Cultusgebande im christ-
lichen Alterthum, pp. 60 et seqq. This question, comprising
also the discussion of the finding and translation of the martyrs
remains, lies beyond the scope of the present work.

2 AUGUSTINUS, Sermo clix. i (MIGNE, P. L. XXXVIII. 868) :
In patria vero nullus orandi locus erit, sed tantum laudandi.
Quare orandi locus nullus erit? Quia nihil deest. Quod hie
creditur, ibi videtur ; quod hie speratur, ibi tenetur ; quod hie
petitur, ibi accipitur. Perfectio tamen in hac vita nonnulla est,
ad quam sancti martyres pervenerunt. Ideoque habet ecclesi-
astica disciplina, quod fideles noverunt, cum martyres eo loco
recitantur ad altare Dei, ubi non pro ipsis oretur ; pro ceteris
autem commemoratis defunctis oratur. Injuria est enim, pro
martyres orare, cujus nos debemus orationibus cornmendari.
Certavit enim contra peccatum usque ad sanguinem. Quibus-
dam vero adhuc imperfectis et tamen ex parte justificatis, ad

222 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

relation of the faithful to the martyrs appears from
the manner in which the latter were regarded as the
patrons of the members of the Church on earth, being
invoked in order to obtain the benefit of their
protection and intercession with God. The saints
desire that the faithful show them reverence, not that
they themselves derive any benefit from it, but that
by this fellowship with them they may bestow
benefits on us. 1 As Christ Himself intercedes for us
with the Father (Rom. viii. 34), so the martyrs who
are with Him do the same. This intercession, indeed,
will not cease until our sighs cease, i.e., until the end
of the world, when all the elect will be gathered
together with the angels into one people in the
heavenly city. 2 In this way, St. Augustine bases the

Hebrceos elicit apostolus : " Nondum enim usque ad sanguinem
pugnastis, adversus peccatum certantes " (Hebr. XII. 4). Si
ergo illi nondum usque ad sanguinem, procul dubio aliqui usque
ad sanguinem. Qui usque ad sanguinem ? Utique sancti
martyres, de quibus lectio sancti Apostoli Jacobi modo audita
est (Jac. I. 2-4). Cf. AUG., in evang. Joann., tract. LXXXIV. i
(ibid. XXXV. 1847); SERMO cdxxxiv. in nat. ss. Mariani et
Jacobi, 5 (P. L. XXXVIII. 1291); Sermo cdxxxv.in nat. ss.
Casti et ALmili, 5 (ibid. 1295) ; Sermo ccxcvii. in nat. afiost. Petri
et Panli III. 2 (ibid. 1360).

1 GREGOR. Nvss., Laudatio s. Stephani II. (MlGNE, P. G.
XLVI. 732).

2 AUGUSTINUS, Enarr. in Ps. LXXXV. 24 (MiGNE, P. L.
XXXVII. 1099): Contristatus est beatus Cyprianus in passione ;
modo consolatus est in corona. Modo et consolatus adhuc
tristis est. Dominus enim noster Jesus Christus adhuc inter-
pellat pro nobis (Rom. VIII. 34) : omnes martyres qui cum illo
sunt, interpellant pro nobis. Non transeunt interpellationes
ipsorum, nisi cum transierit gemitus noster ; cum antem
transient gemitus noster, omnes in una voce, in uno populo, in

IN THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 223

intercession of the saints on the special relation in
which they stand on the one hand to Christ, and on
the other to the members of the Church, in whose
spiritual well-being they take unfailing interest, even
when not specially invoked. 1 The intercessions of
the martyrs refer to the whole religious life of the
faithful. In the eyes of God their prayers atone for
the sins of Christians. 2 They are the mediators who

una patria consolabimur, millia millium conjuncta psallentibus
angelis, choris coelestium potestatum in una civitate viventium.
Cf. AUG., Sermo cccii. in hon. s. Laurentii, I. I (P. L. XXXVIII.

1385).

1 AUG., Sermo cclxxx. in nat. mart. Perpetucz et Felicitatis, I. 6
(MiGNE, P. L. XXXVIII. 1283) : Gloria capiti, unde consulitur
et superioribus manibus, et infimis pedibus. Sicut ille unus
animam suam pro nobis posuit, ita et imitati sunt martyres, et
animas suas pro fratribus posuerunt atque ut ista populorum
tanquam germinum copiosissima fertilitas surgeret, terram suo
sanguine irrigaverunt. Fructus laboris ergo illorurn etiam
nos sumus. Miramur eos, miserantur nos. Gratulamur eis,
precantur pro nobis. Illi corpora sua tanquam vestimenta
straverunt cum pullus Dominum portans in Jerusalem duceretur;
nos saltern velut ramos de arboribus casdentes, de Scripturis
sanctis hymnos laudesque decerpirnus, quas in commune
gaudium proferamus (Matth. XXI. 7-9). Omnes tamen eidem
Domino paremus, eundem magistrum sequimur, eundem
principem comitamur, eidem capiti subjungimur, ut ad eamdem
Jerusalem tendinous, eamdem sectamur charitatem, eamdemque
amplectimur unitatem.

2 AUG., Qucest. in Heptateuchum, II. 108 ( MIGNE, P. L.
XXXIV T . 635) : Deinde jubet ea vela cooperiri pellibus arietinis
rubicatis (Exod. XXV. 5). Aries antem rubricatus, cui non
occurrat Christus passione cruentatus ? Significantur his
etiam martyres sancti, quorum orationibus propitiatur Deus
peccatis populi sui. Ipsis denique superjaciuntur pelles
hyacinthinae, ut significetur vita asterna viriditate tanquam
vigore perpetuo. C f . AMBROSIUS, de viduis, 9 (MIGNE, P. L.

224 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

obtain for us a share in the Godhead, according to
St. Gregory of Nazianzum if he may venture to say
The same saint ascribes the revival of the

catholic faith in Constantinople to the martyrs
prayers. 2 In the prayer with which his oration on
the martyr Cyprian concludes, he calls upon the
saint to look graciously down upon the assembled
congregation, to guide them in word and deed,
to shepherd the flock, and to guard the pastors,
by directing them to all good, by driving away
the wolf that seeks to seize them by syllables and
words, and by bestowing a full and clear vision of
the Holy Trinity, such as the martyrs already enjoy.
In other words, may the saints aid the catholic
congregation in its struggle with Arianism. 3 In
bodily necessities, again, the holy martyrs are no less
able to obtain help from God for the faithful through
their intercessions. In panegyrics on the martyrs,

XVI. 264) : Martyres obsecrandi, quorum videmur nobis
quodam corporis pignore patrocinium vindicare. Possunt pro
peccatis rogare nostris, qui proprio sanguine etiam si qua
habuerunt peccata laverunt ; isti enim sunt Dei martyres nostri
pnesules, speculatores vitae actorumque nostrorum.

1 GREGOR. NAZ., Oratio XI. ad Gregor. Nyssen., 5 (MlGNE,
P. G. XXXV. 837) : Et oiJrws avv\rj\vOaiJ.v ij vvvrpexo^ev, 6vrws
Kara Xpicrrov ?? Trav/jyvpis, 6j&gt;rws rot)s ftdprvpas TeTi/J.r]Ka[J,ev 1) TifJ,r]crofj.ei&gt;,
6Wws xopewtyiej tirivlKia. Et 5e yacrrpbs T]8ovats x a P L0 ^f JI ev0i
/cat Trapay/nareLwv Keupous /cat Trapay/ndrwv , dXX oO/c avafiaffews ij
^ec6(rea)S, IV oCrws enrelv roXjUTjcra?, ?)S oi /jidpTvpes /ncGirevovcri, irpuirov
fj.v ovde TOV Kaipbv tiriyLv c6(r/ca&gt;.

2 GREGOR. NAZ., Oratio XXXV. de martyribus et adv.
Ananos, I (MlGNE, P. G. XXXVI. 257).

3 GREGOR. NAZ., Oratio XXIV. in s. L yprianum, i9(MiGNE,
P. G. XXXV. 1193).

IN THE ANCIENT CHUEOH 225

both spiritual and corporal blessings are frequently
mentioned in speaking of the benefits which the
intercession of the martyrs can obtain for the faithful.
St. Gregory of Nyssa says of the Forty Martyrs of
Sebaste that they are powerful patrons of the faithful
against their enemies, and faithful intercessors with
their common Lord ; under the protection of their
merits, the Christian may have confidence, although
the devil casts his toils around him, and evil men
rise up against him, and tyrants rage against him,
and the sea roars and the earth does not bring forth
her fruits, and the heavens seem for ever shut upv 1
St. Basil tells us how pious women pray for their
children in the church of the Forty Martyrs, for their
husbands when travelling on a far journey that they
may have a happy return, and for their sick husbands
that they may recover. 2 In his oration on St.
Mamas, St. Basil exhorts all the faithful who have
in any way experienced the protection and help of
the saint to have him now especially in honour. 3

1 GREGOR. NYSS., Oratio in XL. martyres (MiGNE, P. G.
XLVI. 788).

2 BASILIUS, Horn, in XL. martyres, 8 (MiGNE, P. G. XXXI.
521-24). Cf. GREGOR. NYSS., Oratio de s. Theodora martyre,
conclusion (MiGNE, P. G. XLVI. 745-748), where he invokes
the saints to come to the protection of the country against
the Scythians. JOAN. CHRYS. Horn, in ascensione Domini, i
(P. G., L. 443).

3 BASILIUS M. horn, in Mamantem martyrem, i (MiGNE, P.
G. XXXI. 589) : Mj TjfT^TjT^ jtioi roG fj-dprvpos, 8&lt;70i 5t tivelpwv avrov
d7T7]\avffaT, 6&lt;rot Trepiruxovres r r6irq&gt; roi/ry, ^x^Keffav dvrbv vvvepybv
etv irpofftvxriv 6 orois, 6v6/J.ari K\T)deis, ^TTL T&V Zpyu Trap^ffTrj
bdotTrdpovs fTrav/jyayev, 8&lt;rovs e dppaxrrtas avea T-rjO ev, &TOIS
a.Trdit)K(v ijdf) TT\VTir)K6Tti}s, o (rots TTpodefffJilas filov fj.a.K port pas

226 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

The confidence of the faithful in the help of the
martyrs was strengthened by the numerous accounts
of miracles wrought at their sepulchres or through
the veneration of their relics, such as the casting
out of devils, recovery from sickness, escapes from
great dangers, and even raising of the dead. 1 Owing
to this confidence in the power of the martyrs
intercession, their cultus made continual advance
all through the course of the fourth century, and the
faithful had recourse to their intercessions and
commended themselves to their protection in all their
necessities, whether corporal or spiritual, as part of
their customary devotions. The doctors of the Church
in their sermons encouraged their hearers to place
their confidence in the martyrs in all their afflictions. 2

1 It will be sufficient to give a few examples from the writings
of the chief theologians of the time : HILARIUS, contra Con-
stantium, 8 (MiGNE, P. L. X. 584 et seq.\ BASILIUS, Horn, in
mart. Julittam, 2 (P. G. XXXI. 241). GREGOR. NAZ., contra
Julianum, I. 69 (P. G. XXXV. 589); or. XXIV. in s.

Cyprianum mart. 18 (P. G. XXXV. 1192); JOAN. CHRYS. in
Julianum mart. (P. G. L. 669) ; in Barlaam mart. (P. G. L. 68 1) ;
/;/ Drosidem mart. (P. G. L. 686) ; de s. Babyla Contra
Julianum, 11 (P. G. L. 551) ; AMBROSIUS, Ep. ad Marcellinam,
16 et seqq. ( MiGNE, P. L. XVI. 1067 et seqq.}. HlERONYMUS,
Comm. in Isaiam, XVIII. in cap. LXV. 4-5 (P. L. XXIV. 657)
AUGUSTINUS, de civitate Dei, XXII. 8 (P. L. XLI. 760 et seqq.} ;
Sermo cclxxv. 3 (P. L. XXXVIII. 1255) ; Sermo cclxxxvi. 5, 6,
8 (ibid. 1299, 1300) ; Sermo cccxx. (ibid. 1442) ; Sermo cccxxii.
(ibid. 1443) ; Sermo cccxxiii. (ibid. 1445) &gt; Sermo cccxxiv. (ibid.
1446).

2 Cf. for example JOANNES CHRYS., Adversus Jitdceos or. VIII.
6 (MiGNE, P. G. XLVIII. 937) : Kai 01) roivvv, orav %s rbv 6tov
(re KoXafrvra, ^ irpbs rovs ^x#/&gt;oi&gt;s aurou Karafivyris rot s lovdaiovs, tVa
yu,rj /j,d\\ov avrbv irapoj-vvrjs, dXXa Trpos rovs 0Xous ai/roO, rot)s fj-dprvpas,

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 227

The greater the confidence in the martyrs protection
and the more frequently they were invoked, so much
the more vivid became the idea of the intercommunion
between the faithful and those whom they regarded
as the foremost and highest of the elect. Some
fathers raised the question how the saints know the
circumstances of the faithful on earth so as to be
able to exert a practical effect upon them through
their mediation with God. St. Gregory of Nazianzum
gives it as his firm conviction that the souls of the
saints can take a lively interest in our affairs. 1 St.
Jerome replies to the reproach of Vigilantius that
the martyrs cannot hear our invocations since they
dwell in the under-world, by ascribing to the souls of
the saints a sort of ubiquity or at least a capacity,
such as the spirits and demons have, of transporting
themselves with marvellous rapidity to various places. 2
St. Augustine proposes to himself two questions
regarding the manner in which the martyrs can
influence earthly things : How can the dead know
what happens on earth? how can the martyrs help

roi&gt;s ayiovs, Kal evrjpeo T rjKdTas avrijj Kal TTO\\T]V e xoiras Trpds avrbv
irappTjo lav.

1 GREGOR. NAZ., epist. ccxxiii. (MIGNE, P. G. XXXVII. 364
et seg.).

2 HlERONYMUS, contra Vigilantium, 6 (MlGNE, P. L. XXIII.
359) : In Deo leges pones ? In Apostolis vincula injicies, ut
usque ad diem judicii teneantur custodia, nee sint cum Dommo
suo, de quibus scriptum est : Sequuntur Agnum quocumque
ierit ? Si Agnus ubique, ergo et hi, qui cum Agno sunt, ubique
esse credendi sunt. Et quum diabolus et dasmoiies toto
vagentur in orbe et celeritate nimia ubique praesentes sini
martyres post effusionem sanguinis sui area operientur inclusi
et inde exire non poterunt ?

228 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

men living in the world? With regard to the first
point, he teaches the dead indeed know nothing of
what happens in the world while it is happening, but
they can learn it afterwards either from other dead or
from the angels. 1 By means of divine power, the
martyrs are in a position to know what is done on
earth, and so to exert an influence in earthly things. 2
With regard to the second question, St. Augustine
confesses that he cannot answer it. That the martyrs
help the faithful is certain, but how they do it
whether by their own immediate action, or by God
granting the answer to the saints prayers through the
instrumentality of angels is not explained by St.
Augustine, because he shrank from giving a judgment
on the question. 3 Be it observed, the whole question

1 AUGUSTINUS, de cura pro mortuis gerenda^ 15 (MlGNE,
P. L. XL. 605 etseq.\

2 Ibid. 16 (ed. cit. 606 et seg.) : Hinc et ilia solvitur quaestio,
quomodo martyres ipsis beneficiis quae dantur orantibus
indicant se interesse rebus humanis, si nesciunt mortui quid
agant vivi . . . Non igitur ideo putandum est vivorum
rebus quoslibet interesse posse defunctos, quoniam quibusdum
sanandis vel adjuvandis martyres adsunt : sed ideo potius
intelligendum est quod per divinam potentiam martyres vivorurn
rebus intersunt, quoniam defuncti per naturam propriam
vivorum rebus interesse non possunt.

3 Ibid. 16 (ed. cit. 607) : Quanquam ista quaestio vires intelli-
gentias meas vincit, quemadmodum opitulentur martyres iis
quos per eos certum est adjuvari ; utrum ipsi per se ipsos
adsint uno tempore tarn diversis locis, et tanta inter se longin-
quitate discretis, sive ubi sunt eorum memoriae, sive pneter
suas memorias ubicumque adesse sentiuntur : au ipsis in loco
suis meritis congruo ab omni mortalium conversatione remotis,
et tamen generaliter orantibus pro indigentiis supplicantum
(sicut nos oramus pro mortuis, quibus utique non praesentamur,

IN THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 229

relates to the manner in which the martyrs hear the
prayers of the faithful on earth and can help those
who invoke them, as to the fact that they actually do
help them, St. Augustine has no doubt.

The only writer of any importance belonging to
this period who opposed the worship and invocation
of the martyrs was Vigilantius of Calagurrae (Cazeres)
in Aquitaine, at a later date ordained priest at
Barcelona during a sojourn in Spain. As far as it is
possible to judge from St. Jerome s reply, he attacked
in his writings the veneration paid to the martyrs, to
their tombs, and to their relics ; he found fault with
the vigils and liturgical celebrations in the churches
erected over their graves ; he denied the power of their
intercessions, and refused to believe that they could
have any interest at all in earthly affairs ; he blamed,
moreover, the custom of showing honour to the
martyrs by burning candles and other lights at their
tombs. Other views of his concerning celibacy and

nee ubi sint vel quid agant scimus), Deus omnipotens qui est
ubique praesens nee concretus nobis, nee remotus a nobis,
exaudiens martyrum preces, per angelica ministeria usque-
quaque diffusa praebeat hominibus ista solatia, quibus in hujus
vitae miseria judicat esse praebenda ; et suorum merita
martyrum ubi vult, quando vult, quomodo vult, maximeque per
eorum memorias, quoniam hoc novit expedire nobis ad aedifi-
candum fidem Christi, pro cujus illi confessione sunt passi,
mirabili atque ineffabili potestate ac bonitate commendet. Res
ha:c altior est quam ut a me possit attingi, et abstrusior quam a
me valeat perscrutari : et ideo quid horum duorum sit an vero
fortassis utrumque sit, ut aliquando ista fiant per ipsam
pnesentiam martyrum, aliquando per Angelos suscipientes
personam martyrum, definire non audeo ; mallem a scientibus
ista perquirere.

230 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

the monastic life do not concern us here. St. Jerome,
who had already made the acquaintance of Vigilantius
in his monastery at Bethlehem, was informed of his
proceedings by the two priests, Riparius and Desider-
ius, and defended the worship and invocation of the
martyrs both in a letter to Riparius l and, later on, in
a separate treatise. 2 His teaching as to the manner
in which the souls of the saints are cognisant of
earthly matters, is in complete accord with what we
have found in the theologians, both eastern and
western, of the period on the question, although he
defends the peculiar ideas alluded to above. The
agreement is remarkable, pointing to the conclusion
that the doctrine of the Communion of Saints was
based upon the uniform belief of the faithful, and
had developed uniformly in different parts of the
Church.

The thorough-going Arians appear also to have
rejected the veneration of relics, or at least not to have
practised it. St. Jerome, for instance, says in his
treatise against Vigilantius (8), that he mocks at the
relics of the martyrs and ridicules the Church of Christ
in company with the Eunomius, the originator of this
heresy ; he is not afraid of such company, seeing that
he prates against catholics just as Eunomius did
against the Church. This agrees with what St.
Gregory of Nazianzum says in his oration on the
martyrs, that in Constantinople, where the Arians had

1 HIERONYMUS, ep. cix. ad Riparium (MlGNE, P. L. XXII.
906 et seqq.},

2 HIERON., contra Vigilantium (MlGNE, P. L. XXIII. 353
et seqq.}.

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 231

been in the ascendancy, the worship of the martyrs
had long been neglected. 1

Yet another bond between the faithful and the
saints, especially the martyrs, was due to the fact that
the saints were regarded as perfect disciples of Christ,
who had perfectly discharged the duties of the
Christian life in a manner pleasing to God. On this
account the faithful considered them as models and
examples for them to imitate in their own lives.
Again and again, the doctors of the Church insist that
the best and only true way of honouring the martyrs
is to imitate their virtues, and so to become worthy of
sharing in their heavenly reward. In sermons this
thought was worked out in detail ; the example of the
martyrs and the duty of imitating them was constantly
impressed upon all classes of Christians with respect
to those several virtues which form the characteristics
of the Christian life. 2 It is in this that the profound

1 GREGOR. NAZ., or. XXXV. de viartyribus et adv. Arianos^
i (MlGNE, P. G. XXXVI. 257). The passage in HILARIUS,
Comm. in Matth. XXVII. 5 (MlGNE, P. L. IX. 1060) on the
wise and foolish virgins : Quibus responderunt non posse se
dare, quia non sit forte quod omnibus satis sit : alienis scilicet
operibus ac rneritis neminem adjuvandum, quia unicuique
lampadi suac emere oleum sit necesse, as the context clearly
shows, is not directed against the intercession of the saints.
Hilary merely means that the entire lack of merit in one
Christian cannot be supplied by others.

2 For examples see : EUSEBIUS C^SAR., Pr&lt;zparatio evan-
gelica, VI. 6 (MlGNE, P. G. XXI. 429). ATHANASIUS, epist. ad
Draconttum, 4 (P. G. XXV. 528). CYRILLUS HlEROS., Catech.
XV. 17 (ed. Rupp. II. 177). HILARIUS, Tract, in Ps. LXV.
(MlGNE, P. L. IX. 432 etseqq.\ BASILIUS, Horn, in Mamantem
mart. 2 (P. G. XXXI. 592) ; horn, in XL. marlyres, i (ibid. 508) ;
horn, in Gordium mart. I. 2 (ibid. 492 et seq.} ; M or alia, Regula,

232 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

moral value of the worship of the saints and of the
doctrine of the Communion of Saints has its basis. It
was not merely by visiting the churches of the
martyrs and imploring their intercessions that what
was most important for the Christian life could be
obtained, but by works of mercy towards ones
neighbours as well. By such works, not only the
approval of God, but also the favour of the saints was
to be gained. 1

The worship of the saints in this period of the
Church was chiefly directed to the martyrs, among
whom were included the apostles. In the " Memento "
at the celebration of the eucharist, the patriarchs and
prophets of the Old Testament were named along
with them as being on an equal footing with them.^
None of these were prayed for, but they were appealed

XXVII. i (ibid. 745). GREGOR. NAZ., oratio XI. ad Gregor.
Nyss. 4 (P. G. XXXV. 836 et seq.} ; or. XXIV. in s.
Cyprianum mart. 19 (ibid. 1192-93); or. XIX. ad Julianum, 5
(ibid. 1048-49). GREGOR. NYSS., laudatio s. Stephani II.
(P. G. XLVI. 733 et seq.}. JOANNES CHRYS., sernio de ss.
martyribus, I. 2 (P. G. L. 647 et seq.} ; in s. Julianum mart. 4
(ibid. 672); in s. Barlaam mart. 4 (ibid. 68 1 et seq.}.
AMBROSIUS, epist. ad Marcellinam (P. L. XVI. lob^et seqq.)\
Exhortatio virginitatis^ I et seqq. (ibid. 351 et seqq.}\ de
virginibus, II. 4 (ibid. 224 et seq.}. AUGUSTINUS, Enarr. in
Ps. LXIX. 4 (P. L. XXXVI. 869); sermo iv. 34 (P. L.
XXXVIII. 52); sermo cclxxiii. 9 (ibid. 1252); sernio cccii. 10
(ibid. 1389); sermo cccvi. n (ibid. 1405).

1 AMBROSIUS, Expositio in Lucam, VII. 245 (MIGNE, P. L.
XV. 1854) on the words: " Facite vobis amicos de iniquo
mammona" (XVI. 9) says: Ut largiendo pauperibus, angel-
orum nobis caeterumque sanctorum gratiam comparemus.

2 CYRILLUS HIEROS., Catech. myst. V. 9 (ed. Rupp. II. 387) ;
see above, p. 216.

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 233

to, in order that through their intercession the Church s
prayers might be graciously received by God. We
find the saints of the old covenant mentioned along
with the apostles and martyrs in other writings of this
period as well. 1 The tombs and relics of the prophets,
some of whom were also martyrs, of the martyrs of
Judaism (the Machabees), and of the patriarchs
received the same honour as that which the Church
paid to the martyrs bodies and resting-places. 2

In addition to these saints, others now began to
receive similar veneration on account of the sanctity
of their lives, i.e., famous ascetics (confessores) and
bishops. The remarkable growth of monasticism
drew attention on all hands to the fathers of the
desert who had been the originators of this form of
the ascetic life. Their lives, written in the fourth and
fifth centuries, in which are recorded their wonderful
lives and remarkable miracles, were the means of
spreading afar the veneration of these new victors
over the power of the devil. The high esteem in
which from the beginning the Church had held the
virtue of virginity must also be borne in mind. The
almost superhuman renunciation of their lives,

1 Cf. for example, HILARIUS, Tract, in Ps. CXLVI. 9 (MiGNE,
P.L. XI. 873) : Hi ergo montes (Ps. CXX. i), patrarcharum,
prophetarum, apostolorum, martyrum altitudines, fcenum pecori-
bus producunt.

2 HlERONYMUS, epist. cviii. ad Eustochium, 13, concerning
the tombs of the twelve patriarchs, Eliseus, Abdias and St.
John the Baptist (MiGNE, P.L. XXII. 889). Cf. especially the
Pcregrinatio s. Sylvia, ed. GAMURRINI, Roma 1887, p. 35 et
seqq. The translation of the body of the prophet Samuel to
Thrace, HlERONYMUS, adv. Vigilantium, 5.

234 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

and especially the belief that God had worked
numerous miracles by means of these fathers of
asceticism, gave rise to the assurance that their inter
cessions availed much with God after their death.
Their relics and graves were honoured in the same
way as those of the martyrs. When Hilarion was
dead, Hesychius went to Cyprus and carried off the
body of the famous ascetic at the risk of his life. His
object was to convey it to Palestine, that the monks
of Majuma might not be deprived of the possession
of the saint s tomb. A pious woman, called Con-
stantia, died of grief at the removal of the body,
because she had been accustomed to spend the night
in prayer at his grave in order to obtain for her
prayers the assistance of the saint s intercession. 1 In
the life of St. Ephrem Syrus, St. Gregory of Nyssa
tells how a man of the same name, being in great
danger of death, invoked the saint, " Holy Ephrem
come to my aid ! " and was saved on the spot. The
writer concludes with a prayer beseeching Ephrem,
" who ministers at the heavenly altar, and along with
the angels sacrifices to the Prince of Life and the Holy
Trinity, to remember us all and obtain for us the for
giveness of our sins." 2 St. Gregory of Nazianzum
declares his conviction that the hands of the ascetics
which have performed so many miracles had also

1 HlERONYMUS, Vita Hilarionis, 46-47.

2 GREGOR. NYSS., Vita Ephram Syri (MiGNE, P. G. XLVI.
849). The prayer to St. Ephrem is as follows: 2$ fe r$ Oely
Trct/HCTTdjuevos tfixrtacrTT;/}^, /cat r-rj fwapx^i? Kal virepaylq, \eirovpywv
ffbv dyytXois TpidSi, ntfj.vr)ffo TTO.VTUV rjfji&

&(f&gt;eatv, aluviov re /ScunXeias air6\a.v&lt;nv.

IN THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 235

brought to naught the impiety of Julian the Apostate. 1
Since these servants of God were endued with so
much power during their life, no one doubted that
they were able after death to obtain help from God
for those who invoked their aid and intercession. The
heroes of the ascetic life, who had steadfastly resisted
all the enemies of salvation and all kinds of tempta
tion, merited for themselves a heavenly crown
resembling that of the martyrs. 2

In the same way, bishops, who had been distin
guished for their zeal for the faith and their holiness
of life, were also the object of special veneration after
their death. St. Basil ranks the famous apostle of
Cappadocia, Gregory, the wonder-worker, among the
apostles and prophets ; he counts his soul among
those who are united to God because he was a shining
light in the Church, had power over demons by the
strength of his spirit, worked so many miracles, and
converted so many people : therefore, his memory
will for ever remain imperishable in the churches. 3
Bishops who had been banished on account of their
fidelity to the faith, and had died in banishment, were

1 GREGOR. NAZ., oratio IV., contra Julianum I. 71 (P. G.
XXXV. 593).

2 HlERONYMUS, ad Eustochium ep, cviii. 31 (MiGNE, P. L.
XXII. 905) : Secura esto, Eustochium, magna hrereditate ditata
es. Pars tua Dominus ; et quo magis gaudeas, mater tua longo
martyrio coronata est. Non solum enim effusio sanguinis in
confessione reputatur, sed devotse quoque mentis servitus im-
maculata quotidianum martyrium est. Ilia corona de rosis et
violis plectitur, ista de liliis.

3 BASILIUS, de Spiritu sancto, XXIX. 72 (MiGNE, P. G.
XXXII. 205).

236 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

venerated in the same way as the martyrs ; their
relics and tombs were surrounded with the same
reverence. 1 In his oration on Meiitius, Bishop of
Antioch, St. John Chrysostom represents his soul as
dwelling in the celestial tabernacles and aiding the
prayers of the faithful members of his flock with God. 2
The Life of St. Martin of Tours by Sulpicius Severus
shows he was venerated no less profoundly than the
words of Basil just quoted prove that the faithful
venerated St. Gregory.

Although not all the privileges enjoyed by the
martyrs in the writings of this period were attributed
to these other saints the ascetics and bishops
still the worship of the latter was similar in its
essence to that paid to the former, and found expres
sion in the same outward manifestations. Their
annual commemoration was celebrated in the com
munity to which they had belonged, and the days of
their festivals soon found a place in the liturgy
alongside that of the martyrs. 3

In this period the worship of the Mother of God
attained to special importance. Her peculiar position
as Mother of the Redeemer and Virgin Mother had
indeed been emphasized by the doctors of the Church
in the period before Constantine, 4 but in the writings
of that period we find no special worship or invocation

1 Cf. BASILIUS, epist. cxcvii. 2, ad Ambrosium episc, Mediola?i.
2 (MiGNE, P. G. XXXII. 712).

2 JOAN. CHRYS. de Melilio Antiocheno, 3 (MiGNE, P. G. L.
520).

3 DUCHESNE. Origines du culte chretien, p. 273, 2nd ed.

4 Cf. Marie dans FEglise Antdniceenne by E. NEUBERT,
Paris, 1908.

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 237

of her, as we do in the case of the apostles and
martyrs. Two circumstances contributed in the period
now before us to the development of her worship, i.e. t
the remarkable growth of the ascetic life, which held
up Mary before consecrated virgins as the highest ideal
of their state of life, and the development of Chris-
tology, which brought out into special clearness her
position as Mother of the Redeemer with all that
this position implied. The Church s doctrine on
the union of the two natures in the one person in
Christ had special influence in bringing about this
result.

Among all the writers of this time, SS. Ambrose
and Jerome, the great champions and advocates of
the virginal life, are prominent in eloquently depicting
Mary, Virgin and Mother, as the perfect model of all
the virtues which consecrated virgins were bound to
practise. 1 In heaven she leads the choirs of virgin
souls, with her the consecrated virgins will one day be
numbered ; 2 she appears as the special patroness and
" mother " of those who have vowed their virginity to

1 AMBROSIUS, de virginibus, II. (MiGNE, P. L. XVI. 220 et
seqq.} ; de institutions virginis (ibid. 320 et seqq.} ; Epositio in
Lucam. II. passim (ibid. 1640 et seqq.}. HIERONYMUS, adv.
Hilviditim, and numerous scattered passages in his other
writings. AMBROSIUS, de virginibus, II. 2 xv. (MiGNE, P. L.
XVI. 222) : Talis enim fuit Maria, ut ejus unius vita omnium sit
disciplina. Si igitur auctor non displicet, opus probemus, ut
quaecumque sibi ejus exoptat prsemium, imitetur exemplum.
Quantae in una virgine species virtutum emicant. Secretum
verecundire, vexillum fidei, devotionis obsequium : virgo intra
domum, comes ad ministerium, mater ad templum.

2 AMBROSIUS, de virginibus, II. 2, xvi. (MIGNE, P. L. XVI.

222).

238 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

God. 1 No less clearly does St. Augustine celebrate
the union of motherhood with perpetual virginity in
the Mother of God, and points to her as the ideal, not
only for consecrated virgins, but for all pious believers
as well, and even for the whole Church ; it is a
favourite idea with him to compare Mary, the virgin
mother, with the Church. 2 We find similar expres
sions also in the Greek and Syrian teachers of the
period.

It follows from this conception of their relation to
Mary, their ideal exemplar, that the ascetics, especially

1 HIERONYMUS, epist. xxxix. ad Paulam super obitu Blcesilla,
6 (MiGNE, P. L. XXII. 472). Jerome places in the mouth of
the departed the following words addressed to her mother : Si
unquam me amasti, mater, . . . ne invideas glorias meae,
nee hoc agas ut a nobis in perpetuum separemur. Putas esse
me solam? Habeo pro te Mariam matrem Domini. Multas
hie video quas ante nesciebam. O quanto melior est iste
comitatus.

2 AUGUSTINUS, De sancta virginitate, 5 (MiGNE, P. L. XL.
399) : Verum tamen ille unius sanctae Virginis partus omnium
sanctarum virginum est decus. Et ipsas cum Maria- matres
Christi sunt, si Patris ejus faciunt voluntatem. Hinc enim et
Maria laudabilius atque beatius Christi mater est, secundum
supra memoratam ejus sententiam : " Quicumque facit volun
tatem Patris mei qui in ccelis est, ipse mihi frater, et soror, et
mater est." Has sibi omnes propinquitates, in populo quern
redemit, spiritualiter exhibet : fratres et sorores habet sanctos
viros et sanctas feminas, quoniam sunt illi in coelesti hasreditate
cohaaeredes. Mater ejus est tota Ecclesia, quia membra ejus, id
est fideles ejus per Dei gratiam ipsa utique pariL. Item mater
ejus est omnis anima pia, faciens voluntatem Patris ejus
fecundissima charitate, in iis quos parturit, donee in eis ipse
formetur (Gal. IV. 19). Maria ergo faciens voluntatem Dei,
corporaliter Christi tantummodo mater est spiritualiter antem
et soror et mater.

IN THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 239

the consecrated virgins and widows, who had dedicated
themselves to the service of God, not merely venerated
and honoured the Mother of God, but besought her
intercession as well. The example of the virgin
Justina, mentioned by St. Gregory of Nazianzum,
who invoked the Virgin Mary to preserve her virginity,
is certainly not an isolated instance ; we may rather
conclude from it the universal belief of the faithful. 1

The other circumstance which secured for Mary a
special position among the saints was her dignity
as Mother of God, Mother of the Redeemer. As such
" she was purified in body and soul by the Holy Ghost,
since it was necessary that her conception should be
worthy of all honour, and her virginity should be pre
served." 2 In his controversy with Pelagius, who had
appealed to a long list of saints of both sexes in the
holy scriptures, St. Augustine exempts Mary alone
as being entirely free from sin. 3 According to St.
Jerome, she excels all holy women, as a clear light
excels the glimmer of the stars. 4 To Mary alone was

1 GREGOR. NAZ., oratio XXIV. in laudem Cypriani martyris,
II (MlGNE, P. G. XXXV. IlSl): TaOra /ecu TrXei w rotruv
^TrKpTjfj.i^ova a /cat ryv ira.pdvov Maptaf t/cerei/oucra fioydrja a.!, irapOevip
Ktvdvvevotjffr), TO rfjs vrjo-Ttias /cat xa/iewfos Trpo/SdXXerat (f&gt;dpfj.aKov.

2 GREGOR. NAZ., oratio XLV. in s. Pascha 9 (MIGNE, P. G.
XXXVI. 633).

3 AUGUSTINUS, De natura et gratia^ 36 (MlGNE, P. L. XLIV,
267) : Excepta itaque sancta virgine Maria, de qua propter
honorem Domini nullam prorsus cum de peccatis agitur haberi
volo quaestionem : unde enim scimus quid ei plus gratiae
collatum fuerit ad vincendum omni ex parte peccatum quse
concipere ac parere meruit quern constat nullum habuisse
peccatum ?

4 HIERONYMUS, Comm. in Saphoniam prologus (MlGNE

240 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

due the angel s salutation, " Ave, gratia plena," for she
alone has received the grace, merited by none other,
of being filled with the source of grace. 1 No other
had received from the Lord so great a merit or
obtained a greater reward. 2 St. Ambrose compares
Mary with Eve, and interprets the prophecy given
immediately after the fall as referring to her (Gen.
iii. 3). Both St. Augustine 3 and St. John Chry-
sostom 4 draw out this parallel between the mother
of the human race and the Mother of Christ ; they
contrast the sin of Eve by which death came into the
world, and the perfection of Mary by which Life was
born. In a certain sense, they attributed to the
Mother of God an active part in the redemptive work

P. L. XXV. 1337) : taceo de Anna et Elizabeth et ceteris
sanctis mulieribus quarum velut siderum igniculos clarum
Mariae lumen abscondit.

1 AMBROSIUS, Expositio in Lucam, II. 9 (MiGNE, P. L. XV.
1636).

2 AMBROSIUS, de institutione virginis, VI. 45 (MIGNE, P. L.
XVI. 331) : Et quae esset, cui majus quam matri Dominus
meritum reponeret, prsemium reservaret ? Nulli enim uberiora
quam virginitati deputavit munera, sicut Scriptura nos docet.
Sic enim per Jesaiarn Dominus locutus est (Isa. LVI. 2-5).
Aliis promittit ut non deficiant, matrem suam deficere patie-
batur? Sed non deficit Maria, non deficit virginitatis
magistra.

3 AUGUSTINUS, Sermo ccxxxii. in diebus Paschalibus, III. 2
(MiGNE, P. L. XXXVIII. 1108): Nam hoc est quod egit
Dominus Jesus Christus, ut prius ilium sexus femineus resur-
rexisse nuntiaret. Quia per sexum femineum cecidit homo, per
sexum femineum reparatus est homo, quia virgo Christum
pepererat, femina resurrexisse nuntiabat. Per feminam mors
per feminam vita. Cf. AUG., Sermo li. 2 (ibid. 335).

4 JOANNES. CHRYS., de s. Droside mart. 3 (MIGNE, P. G. L,
687 et seq.\

IN THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 241

of Christ, and in this way admitted the existence of a
special bond between her and the faithful redeemed
by Christ. St. Ambrose mentions Christ s mother in
another connection, as sharing in the Saviour s work
of redemption, i.e., at the crucifixion. She stood
under the Cross, awaiting not the death of the
surety, but the salvation of the world. Perhaps, she
even believed to add something to her Son s sacrifice
by her own death ; Christ, however, needed no assis
tant in redeeming all men ; " He accepted, indeed, His
mother s sympathy, but sought not the help of man." 1
By her divine maternity, Mary had a still wider
significance as a model for the faithful ; for everyone
who believes in Christ conceives and brings forth the
Word of God in his soul and acknowledges His works ;
still the soul must keep itself pure and free from sin,
and then it praises the Lord as Mary s soul magnified
Him. 2 It is clear that teaching of this kind must

1 AMBROSIUS, Expositio in Lucam, X. 132 (MlGNE, P. L.
XV. 1930) : Sed nee Maria minor quam matrem Christi
decebat, fugientibus apostolis ante crucem stabat, et piis
spectabat oculis Filii vulnera ; quia exspectabat non pignoris
mortem sed mundi salutem. Aut fortasse quia cognoverat per
Filii mortem mundi redemptionem, aula regalis putebat se et
sua morte publico muneri aliquid addituram. Sed Jesus non
egebat adjutore ad omnium redemptionem, qui dixit : " Factus
sum sicut homo sine adjutorio, inter mortuos liber" (Ps.
LXXXVII. 5). Suscepit quidem matris affectum sed non
quaesivit hominis auxilium.

2 AMBIUXSIUS, _./-:.I-/ M\ in Lucam II. 26, 27 (MlGNE, P. L.
XV. 1642): " Beata, inquit, quac credidisti." Sed et vos beati
qui audistis et credidistis ; quaicumque enim crediderit anima
et concipit et generat Dei Verbum et opera ejus agnoscit. Sit
in singulis Mariae anima, ut magnified Uominum ; bit in
singulis spiritus Mariae, ut exultet in Deo. Si seeundum

242 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

have tended to spread the veneration for the Mother
of God among Christian people. The rise of the
Collyridians shows the development of this veneration
in an heretical direction by the offering of sacrifices
to Mary and so paying her divine honours. St.
Epiphanius opposed this error as well as that of the
Andicomarians, who refused to pay Mary any special
veneration, while he maintained the true meaning of
the honour shown to her. 1 This widespread venera
tion for the Mother of God was also manifested by
the appointment in this period of special festivals in
her honour. The ancient Nestorian and Coptic
calendars have each one feast of this kind ; a similar
festival was first mentioned as observed in Gaul by
Gregory of Tours ; in Rome the octave of Christmas,
1st January, was especially set apart for the memorial
of the Mother of God, according to the most ancient
liturgical documents. 2 These festivals in turn contri
buted to spread and deepen the worship of Mary
among Christian people. 3

carnem una mater est Christi, secundum fidem tamen omnium
fructus est Christus. Omnis enim anima accipit Dei Verbum,
si tarnen immaculata et immunis a vitiis, intemerato casti-
moniam pudore custodiat. Qurecunque igitur talis esse potuerit
anima, magnificat Dominum sicut anima Marise magnificavit
Dominum et exultavit spiritus ejus in Deo salutari.

1 EPIPHANIUS, Adv. hareses, III. har. LXXVIII. adv.
Antidicomirianitas, and hcer. LXXIX. adv. Collyridianos
(MlGNE, P. G. XLII. 699 et seqq., 739 et seqq.}.

2 Cf. DUCHESNE, Origines du culte chrttien, p. 258 et seqq.
KELLNER, Heortology, p. 225 et seqq.

3 In what we have said above we have confined ourselves to
the questions relating to the worship of Mary which bear upon
our subject. The newer literature on the whole question will be

IN THE ANCIENT CHUKCH. 243

From the foregoing it is clear how in this period
the worship of the saints, other than the apostles and
martyrs, gained a footing in the Church, to which
succeeding centuries gave a further development. All
essential points relative to the question are to be
found in the writings of the doctors of the period.

found under the article " Maria" in HERDER S Kirchenlexikon,
2nd ed. VIII. p. 727.

244 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

CHAPTER V.

THE WORSHIP AND INVOCATION OF ANGELS.

THE doctrine concerning the relation of the faithful
on earth to the holy angels developed during the
fourth and fifth centuries on the same lines as in the
period before Constantine. 1 All writers in the
Church regard the angels as the ordained channel
through whom God orders the course of this world.
Part of this ministry consists of the help and
protection given by angels to the faithful in this
world, with the object of leading them to partake in
the blessings of redemption and citizenship in the
heavenly kingdom of God. A deeper foundation was
given to this belief in the relation between angels
and men by the doctrine of the City of God, which
owed its development to St. Augustine. The angels
form the heavenly City of God, and this part of the
Holy City comes to the help of the other part which
is still wayfaring here below, for both parts will one day
be united, and even now are one in the bond of love. 2
The angels invite men to a share in the kingdom of
God and desire that they become its citizens. 3 More-

1 On the teaching concerning the angels, cf. Schwane, Dog-
mengeschichte, II. 2nd ed., pp. 231-254.

2 AUGUSTINUS, Enchiridion, 56 (MiGNE, P. L. XL. 258
et seq.\ Cf. above, p. 175.

3 AUG., De dvitate Dei, X. 25 (MiGNE, P. L. XLI. 303) :
HLCC est gloriosissima civitas Dei : hasc unum Deum novit et

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. ~245

over, St. Augustine connects the ministry of angels to
men with the ministrations which they rendered to
Christ the Lord. The Church is the body of Christ,
and so the Son of Man is both in heaven above, and
on earth below, where His mystical body dwells, and
the angels mount up to the Head and descend to the
members. 1

The great majority of Greek and Latin doctors
teach plainly that each baptised person has a special
guardian angel, and this may be regarded as the
universally accepted teaching. Eusebius of Caesarea
is not clear, for he speaks only in general terms of
the guardian angels appointed by God to watch over
the faithful. 2 The Cappadocian doctors, SS. Basil and
Gregory, and St. John Chrysostom, teach expressly
that those who believe in Christ and belong to the
Church have their own particular guardian angels to
protect them and urge them on to good works. 3 St.

colit : hanc angeli sancti annuntiaverunt, qui nos ad ejus
societatem invitaverunt, civesque suos in ilia esse voluerunt ;
quibus non placet ut eos colamus tanquam nostros decs, sed cum
eis et illorum et nostrum Deum ; nee eis sacrificemus, sed cum
ipsis sacrificium Deo simus.

1 AUG., Enarr. in Ps. XLIV. 20 (MlGNE, P. L. XXXVI. 507) :
Angeli Dei ascendant et descendant per scalas illas, fiat hoc in
Ecclesia. . . . Hoc fit in Ecclesia : ascendunt et descendunt
angeli Dei super Filium hominis, quia sursum est Filius
hominis, ad quern ascendunt corde, id est caput ejus ; et
deorsum est Filius hominis, id est corpus ejus. Membra ejus
hie sunt, caput sursum est : ascenditur ad caput, descenditur
ad membra. Christus ibi, Christus hie.

2 EUSEBIUS C/ES., Praparatio evangelic*, XIII. 13 (MlGNE,
P. G. XXI. 1107) ; Demonstratio evangelica, III. 3 (ibid. XXII.
193)-

3 Cf. BASILIUS, Adversus Eunomium, III. i (MIGNE, P. G.

246 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

Basil, however, thinks the guardian angel is driven
away by sins " as smoke drives away bees and a bad
odour doves." l Among Latin theologians SS. Hilary,
Ambrose, and Jerome maintain a view similar to that
of the Greek fathers. 2 We shall not be wrong if we
attribute this opinion chiefly to the influence exercised
by Origen s works. St. Ambrose often refers to
the ministry of angels to the faithful in general
without attributing to each man a special guardian.
In St. Augustine, we do not find anything more
definite which would lead us to suppose an angelic
guardian was appointed to each of the faithful,
although the angels hold a prominent position in his
whole system of doctrine concerning the Church as
the City of God, and he regards the offices of the angels
to the elect as being of very great importance. The
Abbe Turmel traces back this idea of St. Augustine

XXIX. 656 et seq.} ; de Spiritti sancto, 13 (P. G. XXXII. 120) ;
Horn, in Ps. XXXIII. 5 (P. G. XXIX. 364); Horn, in Ps,
XLV. 2 (ibid. 417-419); Horn, in Ps. XLVIII. 9 (ibid. 453).
GREGOR. NYSS., de vita Moisis (P. G. XLIV. 337 et seq.\
JOAN. CHRYS., in Matth. horn. LIX. 4 (P. G. LVIII. 579) ; in
epist. ad Coloss. I. horn. III. 4 (P. G. LXII. 322); cf. also de
laudibus Pauli horn. VII. (P. G. L. 509).

1 BASILIUS, Horn, in Ps. XXXIII. 5 : Uavrl ireirtffTCVK&ri u rbv
"Kijpiov d77eXos Trapfdpetiei, tav /^Trore avrbv 7/yuets eirl rCov irovrip&v
epyuv aTrodtu^wfjLev us y&p ra? ^teXt crcras /caTrvds &lt;f&gt;vya5eijei, Kzl ras
Trepurrep&s dvacodla tj-eXdvvei, otfrw /cai rbv 0i;Xa/ca TTJS farj$ ypQv &yye\ov
y Tro\ti5aKpvs real dvcrddrjs cKftlffTyffiv a/naprla-

2 HILARIUS, Tract in Ps. LXV. 13 (MiGNE, P. L. IX. 429
et seq.}; in Ps. CXVIII. 7 (ibid. 506); in Ps. CXX. 4 (ibid.
655); in Ps. CXXXIV. 17 (ibid. 761). AMBROSIUS, in Ps.
XXXVII. 43 (P. L. XIV. 1080); in Ps. XXXVIII. 32 (ibid.
1104). HIERONYMUS, in Jeremiaiii) XXX. 12 (P. L. XXIV.
903).

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 247

to his doctrine of predestination, which precludes
the constant ministration of a particular guardian
angel, though it leaves room for the ministry of angels
as mediators between God and the faithful, without
giving to each individual his own protector. 1 Cassian,
indeed, the opponent of the doctrine of predestination,
gives each man not only a good angel but an evil
angel as well, relying on the Pastor of Hermes, and
attributes the choice between the good and evil
counsellors to man s free will. 2 Among the Greek
fathers, Gregory of Nyssa is the only one who also
teaches that every man has not only his good angel
but his own evil angel by his side. 3 We have seen
how in the period before Constantine the view was
already held that churches and assemblies of the
faithful enjoyed the patronage of special angels
(vide ante, p. 140). In the period now before us, many
teachers of the Church put forth the same opinion.
St. Basil consoles the priests of Nicopolis, when they
were compelled to hold their services outside the
town on account of the intrusion of an Arian bishop,
by saying that the angel overseer (e&lt;/&gt;e/oo?) of their
Church is driven out along with them. 4 St. Gregory of
Nazianzum has no doubt that each Church, according
to what St. John says in the Apocalypse, has its own
guardian angel, and he addresses a special farewell to
these ccfropol in his oration on his departure. 5 St. John

1 Revue dhist. et de litttr. rdigieuses, III. (1898), p. 542.

2 CASSIANUS, Collatio VIII. 12, 17.

3 GREGOR. NYSS., de vita Moists (MIGNE, P. G. XLIV. 337).

4 BASILIUS, epist. II. ccxxxviii. (MiGNE, P. G. XXXII. 889).

6 GREGOR. NAZ., oratio XLII., Sitpremum vale, 9, 27 (MIGNE,
P. G. XXXVI. 469, 492).

248 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

Chrysostom also refers to the angels who are present
at the liturgical assemblies of the Church, 1 and among
the Latin fathers, St. Ambrose speaks of angels who
preside over the churches. 2

/ The assistance given by the heavenly spirits to
the members of the Church, whether as specially
appointed guardian angels or as God s ministers in
the guidance of the faithful in general, was manifold.
Their ministry was described in the first place as a
protection against the dangers which the evil powers
were always placing in the way of the faithful. As
cities are protected by their walls against the attacks
of enemies, so the Christian s soul is protected by
the guardian angeL 3 They are further described as
instructors (jraiSdycDyoi) and shepherds of the just,
leading them on to perform good works. 4 Through
their ministry, God guides us to eternal blessedness, 5
They accompany us during our earthly pilgrimage
to the eternal city of God in the world to come,
where they already enjoy blessedness. 6 They en
lighten our spirits by the light of their knowledge, or

1 JOANNES CHRYS., Horn, de ascensione Domini, I. (MIGNE,
P. G. L. 443)-

2 AMBROSIUS, Expositio in Ps. CXVIII. sermo. i. 9-10
(MIGNE, P. L. XV. 1267 et seqq.}.

3 BASILIUS, Horn, in Ps. XXXIII. 5 (MIGNE, P. G. XXIX.
364). Cf. HlLARlUS, Tract, in Ps. CXXXIV. 17 (MiGNE, P. L.
IX. 761).

4 BASILIUS, de spiritu sancto, 13 (MiGNE, P. G. XXXII. 120) ;
adv. Eunomium, III. i (ibid. XXIX. 655). JOANNES CHRYS.,
in epist. ad Coloss. I. horn. III. 4 (P. G. LXII. 322).

5 HILARIUS, Tract in Ps. CXX. 4 ( MIGNE, P. L. IX. 655).

6 AUGUSTINUS, Enarr. in Ps. LXII. 6 (MiGNE, P. L.
XXXVI. 750-

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 249

rather by the light of God, which they communicate
to U& 1 , They bring the prayers of the faithful before
God, 2 and intercede for those placed under their
charge. 3 x St. Augustine does not exclude the opera
tion of the angels from the working of miracles. 4 In
fact, we can say that in the opinion of the fathers

1 AUGUSTINUS, Enarr. in Ps. CXVIII. sermo xviii. 4
(MiGNE, P. L. XXXVII. 1553) : Deus itaque per seipsum, quia
lux est, illuminat pias mentes, ut ea quae divina dicuntur vel
ostenduntur intelligant. Sed si ad hoc ministro, utitur angelo,
potest quidem aliquid agere angelus in mente hominis, ut
capiat lucem Dei et per hanc intelligat ; sed ita dicitur intel-
lectum dare homini et quasi, ut ita dicam, intellectuare
hominem, queinadmodum quisquam dicitur lucem dare domui
vel illuminare domum, cui fenestram facit, cum earn non sua
luce penetrat et illustrat, sed tantummodo aditum quo pene-
tretur atque illustretur aperiat.

2 AUG., Enarr. in Ps. LXXVIII. i (MiGNE, P. L. XXXVI.
1009) : Nam et angeli quas hominibus nuntiant, nescentibus
nuntiant ; quse autem Deo nuntiant, scienti nuntiant, quando
illi offerunt orationes nostras, et ineffabili modo de actibus suis
asternam veritatem tanquam legem incommutabilem consulunt.
Cf. AUG., epist. cxl. 69 : Anuntiant angeli non solum nobis
beneficia Dei, sed etiam preces nostras illi. HILARIUS, Tract in
Ps. CXXIX. 7 (MiGNE, P. L. IX. 722). Comment, in Mattk.
XVIII. 5 (MiGNE, P. L. IX. 1020).

3 HILARIUS, in Ps. CXXIX. 7 : Intercessione itaque horum
non natura Dei eget, sed infirmitas nostra. Missi enim sunt
propter eos qui haereditabunt salutem : Deo nihil ex his quse
agimus ignorante, sed infirmitate nostra ad rogandum et pro-
merendum spiritalis intercessionis ministerio indigente (P. L.
IX. 722).

^ 4 AUG., De cimtate Dei, X. 13 (MiGNK, P. L. XL1. 291);
Porro autem quascumque miracula, sive per angelos, sive quo-
cumque modo ita divinitus fiunt, ut Dei unius, in quo solo beata
vita est, cultum religionemque commendent, ea vere ab eis vel
per eos, qui nos secundum veritatem pietatemque diligunt,
fieri, ipso Deo in illis operante, credendum est.

250 THE COMMOTION OF SAINTS

whatever God does for the salvation of men is per
formed through the ministry of angels.

This activity of the angels in promoting the salva
tion of men demands from men in return the duty of
love and reverence. St. Augustine founds the duty
of love towards the angels on the command to love
our neighbours, since he includes them among our
neighbours. 1 The greater number of writers in this
period speak from time to time of the veneration
due to the angels from the faithful ; the words of
Eusebius, 2 at the beginning of the period, express the
universal belief of both the doctors of the Church
and the Christian people. The position of the
angels as holy beings and patrons of the faithful
led to the latter invoking their assistance in the
same way as they did that of the saints. St. Ambrose,
when concluding the account of the healing of St.
Peter s wife s mother, exhorts Christians to invoke

1 AUGUSTINUS, De doctrina Christiana, I. 30 (MlGNE, P. L.
XXXIV. 31) : Sed utrum ad ilia duo prascepta etiam dilectio
pertineat angelorum, non irrationabiliter quaeri potest . . .
Jam vero si vel cui praebendum est vel a quo nobis praebendum
est officium misericordiae recte proximus dicitur, manifestum est
hoc prsecepto quo jubemur diligere proximum, etiam sanctos
angelos contineri, a quibus tanta nobis misericordiae impen-
duntur officia, quanta multis divinarum Scripturarum locis
animadvertere facile est.

2 EUSEBIUS C/ESAR., Demonstrate Evanqelica, III. 3

(MlGNE, P. G. XXII. I93) : ^ v T0 * s Soy/AariKOis TUV avrov \6ywv
irapt.\ fi(pa/j.v S-ival nvas /terd TOV avwrdrw 6ebv dwdpeis, dffw/JL&Tovs
TTJV &lt;f)v&lt;riv Kal voepas Xoyixds re Kal Travaptrovs, rbi&gt; Traveler i\ta
, &v 7rXeoi&lt;s /cat fJ.^XP l dvOpuiruv vei &gt;/j.a.Ti TOV Ilarpos did Tivas
olKOvopias dire&lt;rTd\6ai- As 8rj yvupifcw Kal n/jiyv Kara r6
6^y TO) 7ra/ij8acriXcr 6eq&gt; rr\v crej3dcr/j.tov

IN THE ANCIENT CHUKCH. 251

the angels that their intercessions may compensate
for their own unworthiness. 1 In another passage
he declares that the angels protect those who invoke
them in their prayers. 2 This teaching concerning
the guardian angels has its moral significance from the
fact that the thought of their presence is calculated
to restrain Christians from sin, and the teachers of
the Church do not fail to make use of this considera
tion in their exhortations. 3

The worship of the angels gave rise to the custom
of erecting churches and oratories in honour of
the two princes of the heavenly host, Michael
and Gabriel, which dates from the fourth century
onwards ; St. Michael being pointed out in the holy
scriptures as the patron of God s people, and St.
Gabriel being the messenger sent to proclaim the
incarnation of our Lord. Didymus of Alexandria
refers to a large number of churches dedicated to
God under the name of one or other of these angels
not merely in cities, but in villages and in the
country, and speaks of their rich ornaments of gold,
silver and ivory. These churches were places of

1 AMBROSIUS, De mduis, IX. (MIGNE, P. L. XVI. 264) :
ALgri enim nisi ad eos aliorum precibus medicus fuerit
invitatus, pro se rogare non possunt. Infirma est caro, metis
aegra est et peccatorum vinculis impedita, ad medici illius sedem
debile non potest explicare vestigium. Obsecrandi sunt angeli
pro nobis, qui nobis ad presidium dati sunt ; martyres
obsecrandi, quorum videmur nobis quodam corporis pignore
patrocinium vindicare.

8 AMBROSIUS, Senno contra Auxenti-um^ de basilicis ??on
tradendis, 11 (MlGNE, P. L. XVI. 1052).

3 Cf. AMBROSIUS, Expositio in Ps. CXVIII. sermo i. 9
et seqq. (MlGNE, P. L. XV. 1267 et seqq.).

252 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

pilgrimage to the afflicted, who hoped to obtain an
answer to their prayers and relief from their necessities
in these holy places dedicated to the angels. 1 Only
one of these churches has been more fully described
the Mixafatov, built by Constantine the Great not
far from Constantinople, in which, according to
Sozomen, many miracles were wrought 2 The state
ments of Didymus are borne out by what Theodoret
says about the numerous oratories of St. Michael in
Phrygia and Pisidia. 3 It appears that the worship of
the angels in those regions was of a superstitious
character, for the Synod of Laodicea (in Phrygia
Pacatiana) forbade the worship of angels, and speaks
in this connection of " secret idolatry," 4 yet at the
same time the teachers of the Church endeavoured to
maintain the true meaning of the worship of the
angels. 5 The evidence given above shows that the
churches bearing the names of the angels Michael
and Gabriel were confined to the East, but before long
we meet with oratories dedicated to St. Michael in
the West also. The erection of churches in honour
of the princes of the heavenly host prepared the way
for a special festival of each of the angels, instituted

1 DIDYMUS ALEX , de Trinitate, II. 8 (MIGNE, P. G. XXXIX.
592).

2 SOZOMENOS, Historia eccL II. 3.

3 THEODORET, in Coloss. II. 18 (MIGNE, P. G. LXXXII.
613).

4 Council of Laodicea, canon 35 (ed. MANSI, II. 563): Cf.
HEFELE, Conciliengeschichie, I 2 , pp. 768 etseg.

6 St. Augustine explains in several places that the veneration
of the angels was distinct from the adoration due to God alone ;
Cf. De civitate Dei, X. 19 (MlGNE, P. L. XLI. 297) : Enarr. in
Ps. XCVI. 12 (MlGNE, K L. XXXVII. 1246).

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 253

on the day of the dedication of these churches ; l in
the fifth and sixth centuries we find a special festival
of St. Michael observed in both East and West, and
in this way his worship gained a place in the liturgy
similar to that accorded to the feasts of the saints.

1 DUCHESNE, Origines dn culte chretien, pp. 264 et seq.j
KRIEG, Art. "Feste" in KRAUS, Reahncyclopadie der Christ-
lichen Alterthiimer, I. p. 500 : KKLLNER, Heortology (Eng.
Trans.) pp. 328 et seqq.

254 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

CHAPTER VI.

THE ADDITION OF COMMUNIO SANCTORUM TO
THE APOSTLES CREED.

As a conclusion to all that we have said, the question
of the origin and meaning of the addition of " Com-
munio Sanctorum " to the Apostles Creed demands
consideration. Researches, more or less satisfactory,
have appeared in numerous works on the creed pub
lished during the course of the last few years, without
attaining an altogether satisfactory result. 1 I do

1 The best treatment of original sources from our point of
view is the important work of KATTENBUSCH, Das apostolische
Symbol, I. (1894), pp. 102-130, 158-188. Cf. the art. " Aposto-
lisches Symbol" by A. HARNACK in the Realencyclopadie fiir
protestantische Theologie, 3. A. i, pp. 741 et seqq. (translated
into English by S. Means, London. A. & C. Black, 1901) : E.
HtJMPEL, Nicetas, Bischof von Remesiana (1895) D OM G.
MORIN, O.S.B., Nouvelles recherches sur Panteur du " Te
Deum" in the Revue benedictine XI. (1894), pp. 49-77, 337-345.
Among the various treatises on the subject the chief are : A.
HARNACK, Das Apostol. Glaubensbekennttiiss, 1893, pp. 31 et
seqq., and the answer to Cremer s article (Hefte zur Christl.
Welt, 3 pp. ii et seqq.} : H. CREMER, Zum Kampf. um das
Apostolicum; a reply to Harnack, 1893, pp. 13 et seqq. ; ZAHN,
Das apost. Symbolum, 1893, PP- 88 et seqq.; O. Z6CKLER, Zum,
Apostolikum-Streit, 1893, P- 54 etseqq. Among Catholic writers
the following are to be noted : DOM S. BAUMER, O.S.B., Das
Apost. Glaubensbekenntniss, 1893, P- 2I 7 e * seqq.; C. BLUME,
S.J., Das Apost. Glaubensbekenntniss, 1893, PP- I 7 I e ^ se ^9-
The second part of DORHOLT S work, Das Taufsymbolum der
alien Kirche (ist part, 1898), has not yet (1900) appeared.

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 255

not flatter myself that I had arrived at such a result ;
however, more light may be thrown on several con
tested points by studying them in connection with
the results arrived at in the foregoing essay.

/The discussion centres round three questions: (i)
when and where was the addition made to the creed ;
(2) what was the precise meaning originally attached
to the terms "sancti" and " communio " ; (3) what
were the motives which led to the addition being
made ?^, These three questions are intimately con
nected with each other, since the answer to the
two last follows from that given to the first, and also
because the two last cannot be answered except in
conjunction with one another.

The first question is that which admits of the
surest answer.^ Before the fifth century there is no
evidence for the existence of the addition ; again the
addition is not to be found in any eastern creed ;
finally, among western creeds it is perfectly certain
that only those belonging to Gaul contain it. Faustus
of Reji (Riez in the south of France), who became
bishop of the city between 449 and 462, and died
shortly after 485, is the first who affords undoubted
evidence for the existence of" Communio Sanctorum "
in the creed used in his Church. In the work
attributed to him, " de Spirito sancto," he speaks of

Valuable information is to be found in the art. " Gemeinschaft
der Heiligen" by J. KOSTLIN, in the Realenc. fur prot. Theol.
VI. pp. 503-507. To these may be added the following English
works on the Apostles Creed : A. E. BURN, Introd. to the Creeds
(1899) and The Apostles Creed (1906) ; articles in The Journal
of TheoL Studies, vol. I. pp. 3 et seqq. ; vol III. pp. i et seqq.,
48 1 et seqq.

256 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

the words " Sanctorum Communionem " as occurring
in the creed immediately after " sanctam ecclesiam." l
Faustus is also in all probability the author of two
homilies on the creed published by the well known
student of the creeds, Caspari, which contain a brief
explanation of the addition. 2 To Faustus is also
ascribed a treatise, first edited by Caspari as " Tractatus
Faustini de symbolo," 3 which he considers is not
directly written by Faustus, but has been extracted
from his homilies by a writer of the sixth century, or
at latest the seventh. However this may be, there
is no doubt the creed of the Church of Riez in the
middle of the fifth century contained the " Communio
sanctorum," and it is also clear from the way Faustus
speaks of the addition in the first-named treatise,
and in the second of the two homilies, that these
words had been current for a long period, not only
in his church but in the churches of southern Gaul
as well. The same thing appears in the sermon " de
Symboli fide et bonis moribus," attributed, without
hesitation, to St. Caesarius of Aries (502-542), since the

1 FAUSTUS REIENSIS, De Spiritu sancto, I. 2 (ed Engelbrecht,
Corp. Script, eccl. lat. XXI. 104). Cf. W. BERGMANN, Studien
zu einer kritischen Sichtung der siidgallischen Predigtlitteratur
des 5 and 6 Jahrhunderts, I. Faustus von Reji, Leipsig, 1898.
The book " de Spiritu S." is with great probability regarded
as the work of this Faustus.

2 CASPARI, Ungedruckte . . . Quellen zur Geschichte des
Taufsymbols, II. 183-213 ; Kirchenhistorische Anecdota, I. pp.
315 et seqq. Cf. BERGMANN, op. cit. The sermons certainly
come from Gaul, and belong to the close of the fifth century.

3 CASPARI, Alte und neue Quellen zur Geschichte des Tauf-
symboh) pp. 250 et seqq.

IN THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 257

appearance of Kattenbusch s work (pp. cit. I. pp. 165,
et seqq.}, in which this addition to the article on the
Church is also found. 1 It is found also in many other
sermons on the creed attributed to the Gallic divines
belonging to the end of the fifth century and to the
sixth. 2 It is quite certain that the creeds of the
Gallic churches in the middle of the fifth century
contained the addition " Communio Sanctorum " as
part of their traditional contents.

In my opinion, the " Explanatio symboli " of a
certain Bishop Nicetas, published by Caspari as the
work of Nicetas of Aquileia (454-485) points to the
same conclusion. 3 It is highly probable, if not
absolutely certain, that the creed explained in this
" explanatio " contained the addition. 4 Now Katten-

1 Sermo ccxliv. inter opp. S. AUGUSTINI. Append. (MiGNE,
P. L. XXXIX. i\w et seqq.\

2 Sermones ccxl. bis ccxliii., ibid. (MlGNE, loc. cit. 2189 et seqq.}.

3 CASPARI, Kirchenhistorische Anecdota, pp. 341-360.

4 NICETAS OF AQUILEJA, Auslcgung des Symbols (ed.
Caspari, op. cit. I. 355 et seq.}. The passage which concerns
us runs as follows : Post professionem beatys trinitatis jam
profiteris, te credere sanctce ecclesice catholica*. Ecclesia quid
aliud, quam sanctorum omnium congregatio ? Ab exordio
enim sasculi sive patriarchal, Abraham et Isaac et Jacob, sive
prophetas, sive apostoli, sive martyres, sive CcCteri justi, qui
fuerunt, qui sunt, qui erunt, una ecclesia sunt, quia, una fide et
conversatione sanctificati, uno spiritu signati, unum corpus
effect! sunt ; cujus corporis caput Christus esse perhibetur, ut
scriptum est. Adhuc amplius dico. Etiam angeli, etiam
virtutes et potestates superme in hac una confcederantur
ecclesia, apostolo nos docente, quia in Christo reconciliata sunt
omnia, non solum qua in terra sunt, verum et quce in ccelo.
Ergo in hac una ecclesia crede te communionem consecuturum
esse sanctorum. Scito, unam hanc esse ecclesiam catholicam

258 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

busch has proved (pp. cit I. pp. 167 etseqq.) that a bishop
of Aquileia of the fifth century could scarcely have
been the author of the treatise in question, 1 and he
is inclined to attribute it to some Gallic bishop of the
same name (pp. 122 et seqq.). But it seems most
probable that the author was Bishop Nicetas of Roma-
tiana, concerning whose literary activity we find a short
account in Gennadius, 2 who is the same person as the
friend to whom Paulinus of Nola addressed one
of his poems. 3 From Paulinus poetic description it

in omni orbe terrae constitutam ; cujus communionem clebes
firmiter retinere. Sunt quidem et alias pseudoeccllsias, sed
nihil tibi commune cum illis, ut puta Manichaeorum, Cataphrigu-
arum, Marcionistarum vel caeterorum hasreticorum, sive schis-
maticorum, quia jam desinunt istae ecclesiae esse sanctae,
siquidem daemoniacis deceptas doctrinis aliter credunt, aliter
agant, quam Christus (?) Dominus mandavit, quani apostoli
tradiderunt. Possibly the passage is merely an explanation of
the meaning of "sancta ecclesia catholica," which led to the use
of the expression " Communion of Saints." But it seems most
probable that " communio sanctorum " are words which occurred
in the creed. The passage, as a whole, and especially the
phrase " crede te communionem consecuturum esse sanctorum "
can only be thus naturally explained. Vide HARNACK, Real-
encyclopadie, 3 A. I. 754. For the history of Nicetas and his
writings, cf. Nicetas of Rente siana, A. E. BURN, 1905.

1 Cf. E. HtJMPEL, Nicetas Bischofvon Remesiana, pp. 84-89.

2 GENNADIUS, de viris illustribus, ed. Czapla, Miinster, 1898,
p. 56, chap. xxii. Cf. Czapla s notes and references to the
literature of the subject.

;J O. BARDENHEWER, Art. Nicetas, Bisckof von Romatiana,
in the Kirchenlexikon, 3rd ed. ix., 263 et seqq.; MORIN, Revue
bcnedictine, XI. (1894), pp. 61 et seqq. ; HUM PEL,, Nicetas Bischof
vim Remesiana, esp. pp. 98 et seqq. ; ZAHN. Neue Beitriige zur
Geschichte des apost. Symbol-urns, in Neue Kirchl. Zeitschr. VII.
( 1896), pp. 106 ct seqq. On the other hand, see KATTENBUSCH,
Theol. Literatitrzeitung, 1896, No. n, 301 et seqq.

IN THE ANCIENT CHU11CH. 259

appears that Nicetas was a missionary bishop who
worked in Dacia ; 1 and the city called " Romatiana "
by Gennadius is the same as " Remesiana" in the
neighbourhood of the modern Palanka in Servia.
Starting from the identity of the author of the
" Explanatio " with Nicetas of Remesiana, Harnack
sees in the intercourse which existed between Pannonia
and Gaul the possibility of the Gallic creed with its
addition of " Communio sanctorum " having been
influenced by St. Cyril s catechatical lectures about
A.D. 500. These lectures he thinks would reach Gaul
by way of Remesiana in Pannonia and Aquileia. 2
This explanation of the way in which " Communio
sanctorum " was added to the creed, has in my opinion
been with reason controverted by Kb stlin (Realenc. 3rd
ed. vi. 504). It would indeed be strange if the addition
made to the Gallic creed could be due to the influence
of St. Cyril s lectures, without the same influence having
a similar effect on the creeds of Jerusalem or of the
eastern churches as a whole. Again it would be
strange that this addition should be adopted by the
well organized churches of southern Gaul through the
instrumentality of a missionary bishop of Dacia, and
this without leaving any traces of its journey through
the churches of northern Italy. In my opinion it was
just the opposite thing which happened. This point
is clear ; in the middle of the fifth century the Gallic

1 PAULINUS NOLANUS, Poema XVII. (MIGNE, P. L. LXI.,
483 et scqq.}; cf. Epist. XXIX. 14 (ibid. 321) and Poema
XXVII.

2 A. HARNACK, Art. Apost. Symbolum, Realencyclop. 3rd ed.,
I. p. 754-

260 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

creeds contained the additional article, and had done
so for probably a long period. Elsewhere it is only
in the " Explanatio " of Nicetas that we find it referred
to, while it appears in the baptismal creed of no other
church outside the confines of Gaul. If then Nicetas
of Remesiana actually had the additional article in his
creed, it seems simplest to refer it to Gallic influence,
and to believe that Nicetas made use of the creed of
some Gallic church. Harnack is quite correct in
drawing attention to the intercourse between Pannonia
and Gaul. We have only to remember St. Jerome.
The schools of Gaul attracted scholars from various
provinces of the western empire. This intercourse
could however exert an influence upon Pannonia
from Gaul quite as well as the other way about. It
is not unlikely Nicetas visited Gaul in his youth
and received his scientific and theological training
there. Probably also his intimacy with Paulinus
dates from the same period, for, if so, the close bond
of friendship between the two men on the occasion
of Nicetas first visit to Nola in 398 can be more
easily explained than if Paulinus then set eyes on
him for the first time. Possibly the family of Nicetas
spent some time in Gaul. None of these hypotheses
are without foundation ; there is evidence for the
support of each in the facts of the period. The
best explanation of the similarity of the creed used
by Nicetas in his labours as missionary bishop with
the baptismal creed of Gaul seems to me that his
creed came from Gaul. In this case the evidence
afforded by the "explanatio" would apply also to the
creed of Gaul at the beginning of the fourth century,

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 261

and this agrees best with the knowledge we already
possess of the peculiarities of the baptismal creeds of
the Gallic church.

From what we have just said it follows that the
answer to the second question proposed above, i.e. y as
to the meaning of the words " Communio sanctorum,"
is not to be sought in biblical phraseology, as Zockler
does (p. 49), but in the literature current in the Gallic
church of the fourth and fifth centuries. The form
" sanctorum," according to Zahn (pp. 92 et seqq.), is to
be taken as a neuter genitive. Because the creed
must have existed in the churches of southern Gaul
from an early date, he considers it highly probable
that the Latin is the translation of a Greek original,
which could scarcely be anything else than TY^V
Koivcovlav TWV ayiav, and this, in the phraseology of the
Greeks, would mean nothing else than u participation
in the holy things." l It would thus be an expression
of the belief that in the sacraments, and especially in
the eucharist, the gifts proffered therein are actually
received. This explanation, according to which the
article of the creed referred originally to belief in the
operation of the sacraments, is with reason rejected
by Zockler (pp. 51-53). The arguments brought
forth by Zahn in support of his view are in no wise
convincing, and the passage from the sermon 241,

1 The term KOivuvia is found in the writings of the fathers
in connection with ttycoi in another sense, e.g., in ST.
ATHANASIUS, epist. ad Dracontium, 4 (MiGNE, P. G. XXV.
528). St. Athanasius here urges the duty of imitating the
example of the saints and fathers (Kara a-Koirbv TUV ayiwv /ecu ruv
jrartpuv TroXtretfecrflcu) ; if we separate ourselves from them we
forfeit their communion (d\X&lt;5rptoi Kal r?}s TO^TCJV Koivwvlas yevdfjieda).

262 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

ascribed to St. Augustine, but really belonging to
some author of southern Gaul about A.D. 500, has
certainly not the meaning which Zahn would give
it. 1 The genitive " sanctorum " is taken as masculine
in all known explanations of the creed belonging to
the fifth and sixth centuries, and this is a fact which
cannot be ignored. Who, however, are the " sancti " ?
Up till the end of the second century Christians in
general were very often called dyioi ; but from the
beginning of the third century the use .of the term in
this sense became rarer, and in the fourth century
ceased altogether. As an example we may note the
use of " Communio sanctorum " to denote ecclesiastical
communion in a sermon of St. Augustine and in two
Donatist writings. 2 " Sancti " is here used in its

1 The passage runs (Sermo ccxli. 4, MIGNE, P. L. XXXIX.
appendix, 2191) : Credo sanctam Ecclesiarn catholicam. Bene
Symbolum Ecclesiam catholicam nominavit et sanctam, quia
multse ecclesiae hsereticorum sunt ; sed quae non est catholica,
nee sancta dici potest. Sequitur, Sanctorum communionem.
Credentes ergo sanctam Ecclesiam catholicam, sanctorum
habentes communionem, quia ubi est fides sancta, ibi est et
sancta communio, credere vos quoque in corpore resurrectionem
et remissionem peccatorum oportet. Omne sacramentum
Baptismi in hoc constat, ut resurrectionem corporum et remis
sionem peccatorum nobis a Deo prsestanda credamus. The
author concludes from belief in the Holy Church and from
participation in the Communion of Saints that the resurrection
of the body and the forgiveness of sins are also to be believed.
Then, as the last article, he gives a special proof of the efficacy
of baptism. Still it does not follow from the allusion to
baptism that by the phrase "sancta communio" the Eucharist
is to be understood as Zahn would have us believe.

2 As far as I can see the phrase occurs only in these three
documents in the Christian literature of Africa belonging to this
date. According to a remark of ZAHN S (Das apost. Symb.

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 263

ancient sense. It is, however, worthy of notice
that St. Augustine employs the phrase in a passage
where he is speaking of the exclusion of the Patri-
passians from the Church ; while in the two writings
emanating from the Donatists the words " Communio
sanctorum " are used in contra-distinction to open
sinners. 1 The Donatists maintained that sinners
ought not to be tolerated in the Church, and conse
quently that their body was the true and pure church.
The use of the word " sancti " in this sense is explained
partly from the context in which it occurs, and partly
from the peculiar circumstances of the African Church,
but it throws no light on the origin and meaning of
" Communio sanctorum " in the Gallic creed. The
position taken up by the Donatists has much in
common with the Novatianist conception of the
church as consisting of the pure. There were con
gregations of Novatianists in Gaul, and, accordingly,
similar circumstances existed there at the end of
the third century as in Africa at the time of the
Donatist controversy. In Gaul, then, the Catholic
Church might also have been designated as the

p. 91, note 3), G. VON ZEZWITSCH (System, der Katechetik, II 2 ,
I. 123), says the three passages are the only ones known. I
have not been able to consult the latter work.

1 Epist. ad Flavium Marcellinum (MlGNE, P. L. XLIII.
835 inter Opp. S. Aug.) : Si apostoli . . in Ecclesia
zizania, /.., filios diaboli pullulantes, in sanctorum communione
dimittendos esse didicissent. Epistula Cabarsussitani condlii
(cited by St. Aug., in Ps. XXXVI., MIGNE, P. L. XI. 1185 et
seqq.) : Decrevimus omnes sacerdotes Dei . . . hunc
eumdem Primianum . . . quod incestos cum sanctorum
communione miscuerit ... a sacerdotali choro perpetuo
esse damnatum.

264 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

Communion of Saints in the above sense in contra
distinction to the pretensions of the Novatianists, but
there is not the least indication of it in the literature
of the period. By far the most usual, one might even
say the universal, meaning of the word " sancti " in the
fourth and fifth centuries was the same as is given at
the present day to the word " saints " ; it denotes those
whose justice is full and complete, and who enjoy a
position of special honour in the kingdom of God. It
is this sense which is given to the term in all the ex
planations of this article of the creed composed by
Gallic authors of the fifth and sixth centuries. Nicetas
calls the Church " congregatio sanctorum," including
therein all the just from the beginning as well as the
angels, just as we found in various doctors of the
Church quoted at the beginning of this Part (vide
ante, p. 156 et seqq.). He concludes thus: "Ergo in
hac una ecclesia crede te communionem consecuturum
esse sanctorum," plainly using " sancti " in the same
sense as before. " Communio " is taken in the abstract
sense, and the Communion of Saints designates here
a spiritual benefit imparted to all who belong to the
Church ; there is no possibility of attaining to this
benefit outside the limits of the Catholic Church. 1 I
do not think the future "consecuturum" is to be
pressed as meaning that this grace is only to be
attained in the future life, the sense of the passage
seems to me to be rather the following : He who
belongs to the Catholic Church is a member of the
body of Christ, composed of the " saints," i.e., of all
the holy and elect. Union with them through
membership in the Church is the benefit in question,

1 For the whole passage, see above, p. 257, note 4.

IN THE ANCIENT CHUKCH. 265

the " Communion of Saints." It brings with it the
expectation of being one day admitted to their fellow
ship in the heavenly kingdom. The treatment of the
subject is thoroughly Augustinian in its conception.
In the second of the two homilies on the creed
ascribed by Caspari to Faustus of Riez there is a brief
explanation of the " Communio sanctorum," but the
author is occupied with merely exhorting his hearers
to honour the saints in the right way ; he has no idea
of the " sancti " being different from " the saints " in the
technical sense of the word. 1 In the " Tractatus de
Symbolo," by Faustus (or based upon his writings),
there is also only a controversial allusion to the
veneration of the relics of the saints, aimed at those
who reject this form of veneration, *&gt;., the followers
of Vigilantius. 2 In the sermon quoted on p. 262

1 FAUSTUS OF RIEZ, Homily II. on the creed (ed. CARPARI,
Kirchenhist. Anecdota, I. p. 338) : Credamus et sanctorum
communionem^ sed sanctos non tarn pro dei parte, quam pro
dei honore veneremur. Non sunt sancti pars illius, sed ipse
probatur pars esse sanctorum. Quare? quia, quod sunt, de
illuminatione et de similitudine ejus accipiunt ; in sanctis autem
non res dei, sed pars dei est. Quicquid enim de deo partici
pant, divine est gratias, non naturae. Colamus in sanctis
timorem et amorem dei, non divinitatem dei, colamus merita,
non quae de proprio habent, sed quae accipere pro devotione
meruerunt. Digne itaque venerandi sunt, dum nobis dei
cultum et futurae vitas desiderium contemptu mortis insinuant.

2 Tract, de Symbolo (ed. CASPARI, Alte und neue Quellcn,
273 et seqq.} : Illos hie sententia ilia confundit, qui sanctorum et
amicorum Dei cineres non in honore debere esse blasphemant,
qui beatorum martyrum gloriosam memoriam sacrorum
reverentia monumentorum colendam esse non credunt. In
Symbolum prsevaricati sunt, et Christo in fonte mentiti sunt, et
per hanc infidelitatem in medio sinu vitas locum morti aperuerunt,
ubi secundum Symbolum donatur abremissio peccatorum.

266 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

" sancti " is also to be taken in the sense of " saints."
The author says : Where the holy faith is, there is
also the holy fellowship ; and so those who live in the
holy Catholic Church in the true faith have also the
Communion of Saints. Here " Communio " is plainly
taken in the abstract sense, being coupled with
" fides." In another sermon, also the composition oi
some Gallic preacher, "Communio" has a double
significance with regard to " the saints," i.e., " those who
have departed in the faith we hold " : the faithful on
earth must remain in union (societas) with the saints,
and at the same time hold fast the communion of
hope, obviously the hope of sharing in the heavenly
reward. 1 The " communio sanctorum " is used in
another sense in sermon 240 to denote the future life,
for the author finds in it the meaning that the gifts
of the Holy Ghost, which in this life are various in
their degree, will be equally shared by all the elect in
eternity ; what one saint possessed in a lesser degree,
he will receive through participation in the virtues of
another. 2

The doctors of the Gallic church in the fifth
and sixth centuries were fully agreed that the

1 Sermo ccxlii. inter Ps.-Augustin., 4 (MlGNE, P. L. XXXIX.
2193) : Sanctorum communionem : id est, cum illis sanctis, qui
in hac quam suscepimus fide defuncti sunt, societate et spei
comrnunione teneamur. The passage is found word for word
in a later compilation, Sermo de symbolo, 13 (MlGNE, P. L.
XL. 1197)-

2 Sermo ccxl. inter Ps.-Augustin., i (MlGNE, P. L. XXXIX.
2189) : Sanctorum communionem : quia dona sancti Spiritus
licet in hac vita diversa sint in singulis, in aeternitate tamen
erunt communia in universis, ut quod quisque sanctorum minus
habuit in se, hoc in aliena vertute participet.

IN THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 267

" sancti " are the elect and holy ; sometimes the
title is limited to the martyrs or perfect " saints " ;
in other writings, all Christians whatsoever who
attain to the glory of heaven, are included under
the term. In those passages under consideration
which contain allusions to the meaning of the
term, " communio " is taken in the abstract sense,
and means a spiritual benefit bestowed in the
Church. This does not militate against the same
word, either alone or in conjunction with " sancta,
dominca, &c.," being usually taken by western
writers of the fourth and fifth centuries to denote
external ecclesiastical communion. 1 Apart from the
explanations of the creed by Gallic divines already
quoted, we find " communio " used to signify the union
of the faithful in the Church, without any special
reference to external membership with her as opposed
to heresy and schism. 2 Again we find it used in the
abstract of union with Christ, and through Him, with
God in everlasting bliss. 3 There is nothing, therefore,

1 Cf. for example, HILARIUS, de synodis, 4 (MlGNE, P. L. X.
483); 8 (ibid. 485); ad Constantium Aug. I. 5 (ibid. 560) ; contra
Constantium imp. 2 (ibid. 578 et seq.}. AMBROSIUS, ep. XIII. ad
Theodosium (MlGNE, P. L. XVI. 990 et seqq.\ and many other
passages. OPTATUS, de schism. D,,&gt;nat. II. 11 et seqq. (MlGNE,
P. L. XL 964 et seqq.} ; VI. 3 (ibid. 1070). See above p. 262.

2 This is the case not only with African writers : Cf. ZENO,
lib. II. tractatus XIV. iv. (MlGNE, P. L. XI. 438): Quod
convenit cum ea, fidelium communionis sanctae significabat
sacramentum Thamar concepit in utero, Ecclesia corde concepit :
ilia semine, haec verbo (&c.).

3 HILARIUS, Tract, in Ps. LXIV. 14 (MIGNE, P. L. IX.
421): Habernus etiam et cibum paratum. Et quis hie cibus
est? Ille scilicet, in quo ad Dei consortium praeparamur, per
communionem sancti corporis in communione deinceps sancti

268 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

to hinder "communio" being taken in the abstract sense
in the above passages. And so the addition " Communio
sanctorum " signifies the inward spiritual union of the
faithful as members of Christ s mystical body with
the other members of this body, especially the elect
and perfectly just, whose participation in the heavenly
kingdom of God is absolutely certain, and through
whose intercessions help may be given to the faithful
still wayfaring on earth. It is the same idea of
spiritual fellowship which we found in numerous
passages of the works of the fathers belonging to the
preceding period (see above, p. 156 et seqq^. This
union is a great spiritual benefit bestowed within the
Church just as the " remissio peccatorum," l which
follows it in the creed. I see no difficulty, therefore,
in holding that this is the original sense of the words,
and that the addition was made to the creed with this
intention. It is not necessary to think that the
addition was adopted in opposition to some heresy. 2
In my opinion, the development of the doctrine of
the Communion of Saints fully accounts for the
introduction of the phrase into the baptismal creed.
The insertion of " Communionem sanctorum " into the
creed is to be regarded in the same way as that of
" remissionem peccatorum " which follows it : it
emphasised one of the chief spiritual privileges con
veyed by membership in the Church, the kingdom of
God.

corporis collocandi. " Communio," in the first place, means
participation in the Eucharist, in the second, it is equivalent to
the preceding " Dei consortium."

1 Cf. AMBROSIUS, De pcenitentia, II. 3 (P. L. XVI. 521).

2 HARNACK, Das apost. Glauben^bekcnniniss, 3rd ed. p. 32
et seq.

IN THE ANCIENT CHUECH. 269

CONCLUSION.

WE may now regard our task as ended. In the early
period of the Church s history, the doctrine of the
Communion of Saints has undergone no new dog
matic developments since the time of St. Augustine.
To trace the further extension, in their later develop
ment, of certain points of doctrine, of which the
premises had certainly been accepted already, such
as the speculative dogmatic treatment of the doctrines
of Purgatory, of the "Thesaurus Ecclesiae," and of
indulgences, belongs to the theology of the middle
ages.

It may be a cause of astonishment to some, that in
dealing with the historical development of the doctrine
of the Communion of Saints, I have had so little to
say about the " heathenish " element in that doctrine.
Protestant writers on the history of doctrine, and
those who have studied the history of religious life in
the early centuries, frequently maintain that the
worship of saints and angels, both in its underlying
principle and in its outward manifestation in the
religious life of the Church and of the faithful, is " a
subsidiary form of Christianity " or " the sanctioning
of heathendom in Christendom." 1 As in judging all

1 HARNACK, Dogmengesckichte^ II 3 , pp. 439 et seqq. See
SCHULTZE, Untergang des griechisch-romischen Heidenthums,
II. p. 348, cf. H. DELEHAYE, The Legends of the Saints
(translated by Mrs. Crawford, 1907), chap. VI.

270 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

questions connected with the history of religion in
general, so in this case three possibilities have to
be sharply distinguished. When in Christendom
we find beliefs and practices, whether in theological
literature or in religious cult and popular usage,
which resemble those which we find in philosophy or
mythology or in the religious practices of heathendom,
we must assure ourselves (i) whether the basis of
these Christian beliefs are to be found in heathendom
so that extraneous influences did actually operate
upon the beliefs of Christians ; (2) or whether the
origin of these beliefs is entirely Christian, based
upon the doctrine of Christ and the apostles, while
certain heathen elements may yet have asserted
themselves in the speculations of theologians or in
the development of popular practices ; (3) or, finally,
whether these individual phenomena which we see in
Christianity are developed independently of similar
phenomena among heathens, so that an influence
from the side of the latter does not exist, and the
resemblance simply arises from the fact that religion
in its outward expressions, among Christians as well
as among heathen, is in many things the outcome of
that human nature common to members of both
religions. If we apply these necessary assumptions
to the doctrine of the Communion of Saints, it is
plain from the preceding essay how completely
independent of all heathen doctrines and practices
the Christian belief is in its origin and fundamental
principles. The inner spiritual union of all members
of the kingdom of God, the esteem enjoyed by the
saints of the Old Testament as models of holy living,

IN THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 271

the honour in which martyrdom was held, in virtue of
which martyrs were regarded as perfect disciples of
the Lord and special friends of Christ, the " expiatory "
virtue of martyrdom, the intercession of the faithful
for one another, and the conviction that thereby
effectual aid could be obtained from God for others
all this is purely and entirely Christian. In the
development of speculations upon the relation of
departed souls to each other and to the faithful on
earth, the Platonic doctrine of the soul, sometimes
directly and sometimes through speculations on the
angelic world, exercised a certain influence. The
extent of this influence can be estimated only when
the doctrine of Justin Martyr, Clement of Alexandria,
and Origen on angels has been thoroughly investi
gated in its relation to Jewish and early Christian
teaching on the angels on the one hand, and to the
Neo-Platonic doctrine of the soul on the other. But
here is precisely a point in which there is room for
the greatest caution in pronouncing a verdict, for the
resemblance is often merely external and accidental,
and it is impossible to prove the existence of any
direct influence exercised on Christian practices and
opinions by pagan popular traditions. The question
is similar to one we meet with in ancient Christian
art. The similarity in external form between Christian
and heathen representations does not prove that
Christianity adopted the contents of paganism. An
enquiry into the details of these manifestations of the
religious life is not a matter for the historian of
dogma, it belongs rather to the history of Christian
civilisation. It is sufficient for the object we have in

272 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

view to know that the doctrine of the Communion of
Saints, so far as Christian belief and dogma are
concerned, is exclusively a product of Christianity.

AD SOCIETATEM CIVIUM SUPERNORUM PERDUCAT

NOS REX ANGELORUM. AMEN.

KIRSCH, J.P. BQT

The Doctrine of the Communion 312
of Saints. K .